


SPDR

by Jevil_Joss



Category: RWBY
Genre: But has Spoilers for Later in the Season, Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, F/F, Fan Made Team, M/M, Non-binary character, Set Before the Election, Some angst, implied rape, v7 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 23,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss
Summary: Shade, Palis, Doppel, and Riot have been through a lot together. Now, they arrive in Atlas to spearhead the assault on Salem--but another team appears to have beaten them there.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Shade Broker/Riot Reeves
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 takes place just after the Fall of Beacon.

Her gray hair fluttered in her face. Shade quickly pulled her hair out of her face, lips drawn into a line as she stared at the smoking ruins of the city of Vale. Hearing about the Fall of Beacon had been one thing. Seeing the rubble...she shook her head, two blue eyes noting a tower crumbling and collapsing. She jumped, landing in the street. 

Her pace was brisk as she strode through the ruined city, watching the nearby buildings. Her hand crept to the longsword at her side, but Shade couldn't see any Beowulves. Anywhere. Which meant...

The Reclamation Effort's headquarters happened to be the only building that was in one whole piece. This spoke miles about their progress, Shade grimly noted. 

"Who are you?" a tall woman immediately said. Several other young people--presumably, former students--stepped around her, each one drawing weapons. The five looked tired. 

"The name's Shade Broker," she told the tall woman, one hand still on her weapon's hilt. "Yours?"

"Glynda Goodwitch." The woman straightened her spectacles--which were cracked. "What are you doing here?"

"You here to help?" one of the students asked. A rabbit faunus, judging by the ears. 

"Yeah, but not with this mess," Shade replied, nodding to the refurbished building. "Vale's a lost cause."

One of the other students strode forward, glaring at Shade, her sunglasses slipping slightly off her nose. "Listen here--"

"I didn't come here to bicker with you," Shade interrupted. "I couldn't care less about your feelings right now. I want Ozpin."

"Ozpin's dead," Glynda told her. "He died at the Fall."

"That hasn't stopped him, and you know it," Shade said firmly. She looked Glynda up and down. "Where is he now?"

"Dying tends to slow people down a bit," the one with sunglasses said. 

"Try checking Atlas," Glynda said. "If...Ozpin is out there somewhere...he had contingency plans. That's where he'd be."

Shade nodded. "Thank you." She turned and began striding off. "And a bit of advice? Get away from this place. You're not going to be able to do anything good. Try heading to Vacuo--at least there, you can actually change something."

She pulled out her scroll as she walked down the road. "Yo," a voice came in. 

"See if you can get tickets for Atlas," Shade told her friend. "With luck, we can get there before General Ironwood puts the place in lockdown." She looked up at the broken moon in the night sky. "With luck," she repeated bitterly. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Seems a little early to start celebrating," Yang commented, looking at the board. 

On the one hand, Ruby agreed with her--the election could still turn around in the coming day. Then again, she felt that the people wanted something to celebrate, and Robyn had 70% of the voters, to Jacques' 30%. So it seemed like Robyn would win. 

Right?

"I don't know," Ruby said, simply shrugging in response. She barely focused on the rest of the conversation, as her team and Jaune's talked about plans for activities that night. Only half listening, she agreed to spending her evening at the celebration for Robyn. Her opinion of the woman...wasn't high. But, she had to concede: better her a council woman than Jacques Schnee. 

Ruby barely paid any attention to the other guests at the celebration. Her mind wandered elsewhere, away from Robyn and her coming victory. She drifted over to the entrance, watching two women pass by on the street outside. 

Which was when her scroll beeped. "Huntsmen in District 4, several young adults made an unauthorized landing on a stolen airbus. All four are armed, their descriptions as follows: the first one has white hair and blue eyes, and wears a black uniform and skirt, with gray leggings and gold buttons. She carries a longsword strapped to her side..."

Ruby noted that one of the woman that had passed right by her matched the description--down to the longsword strapped at her side. "Found them," she said into her scroll. "I'm gonna confront them." They'd stolen an airbus? That implied a level of skill. Then again, Ruby had also stolen an airbus. Granted, that had involved eight other helpers, and a battle against a rather large mech, but they had still managed t. 

"...just can't stop worrying," the woman with the dress was saying. Her voice had a Vale accent. Ruby couldn't place the accent of her friend, when she replied. 

"It'll be fine," the other said. She wore her hair loose and long, black with a single red stripe down the center. She wore a crop top, and two large bat wings came out of her back. A faunus? A small dagger was kept at her side. She put a hand on her hip--which, Ruby noted, had a massive set of scars on it, creeping up onto her wing. She turned and smiled at the other woman, giving Ruby a glimpse of silver eyes. "It's fine, Shade."

"That doesn't stop the worries, baby," the other, evidently Shade, replied. "I mean, we could be discovered at any moment. We stole a gods damn airbus!"

"Excuse me," Ruby interrupted, fishing out her Huntress license. When the other two looked at her, she held it up, saying,"Yeah, you're under arrest."

"Oh no," Shade said, arms drooping. 

Ruby pocketed her license, pulling out her scroll. "Yeah, I found them--two of them, at least." She glared at Shade and the faunus. "What's your names?"

"Shade Broker and Riot Reeves," the blue-eyed girl answered. 

"I caught that," Clover's voice came over the scroll. "Hold them there. Qrow and I are coming with a transport. Ironwood can sort these guys out."

Ruby noted that Shade relaxed a little at that. Ruby nodded. "How long?"

"Fifteen minutes. Can you hold them?"

Ruby gritted her teeth. She turned to the two, and said, "Hand me your weapons." Shade quickly handed Ruby her longsword, and Riot, somewhat reluctantly, handed her the dagger. Ruby slid both weapons into her belt, then hefted Crescent Rose, in rifle form, with her off-hand--but, of course, these two didn't need to know that she was left handed. "I can do that," she told Clover. 

"On our way." The scroll beeped, and he hung up. Ruby turned back to her prisoners, realization of what she was doing dawning on her. _My first arrest,_ she thought. 

After a minute of silence, Shade said, "Know any jokes?"

"Quiet," Ruby snapped. 

Tyrian watched the two silver-eyed girls, and their blue eyed friend. "We might have a problem," he said, calling Arthur Watts. 

"I noticed," Watts said slowly. "Shade's arrived."

For once, Tyrian found himself not smiling. "The Goddess isn't going to like this," he said. 

"Call off the attack," Watts said. "We don't know where Palis and Doppel are."

"They could be anywhere," Tyrian muttered. "And, Doppel being... _them..._ " He shook his head. "Stupid, non-binary little..." He turned and began walking off--slowly, unhurriedly. "What's the plan?"

Watts considered that for a time. "I'll have to make a new one," he said finally. 


	3. Chapter 3

Multicolor light flooded the room, and Blake knew that Yang had picked a great place to take her. The dancing itself was fast paced, elaborate movements with the two of them. Eventually, though, Blake's legs began protesting too much, and she had to sit down at a table, panting slightly. Yang sat beside her, out of breadth, and flashed her faunus friend one of her signature grins. 

Blake smiled back at her. 

"Excuse me," a voice said. A girl in a blue overcoat bounced over, skipping lightly on one leg at a time. She balanced precariously, both hands stretched out to the sides as she stood on one leg. Her right eye had a scar over it, two pale lines going above it, and one pale line below. She looked between the two of them, her bushy red hair flared out to the side. A small flower pendant sat in her hair as she continued, "Hi, we're looking for a friend of ours. You know a guy? Called Ozpin? Bout this high?" She held up a hand slightly above her head. "Uses a cane? And spectacles?"

"Professor Ozpin?" Yang asked, sharing a look with Blake. "Sorry, but he's dead."

"Oh, I know. I want to know where he is." The girl smiled at them, waiting expectantly. 

"Um...he's dead," Yang repeated, not knowing what else to tell her. It wasn't as if she could say, "Oh, he reincarnated into Oscar Pine?"

"Doppel!" a voice called out. A man with a head full of white hair came over, bending over, panting. "We...were told...to stay...together."

"Hey! Chill out, Palis!" Doppel jumped behind him, still balancing on one foot, thumping her friend in the back. Palis collapsed to the ground, and Doppel put a hand on her chin, watching her friend. 

"I haven't drunk enough coffee for this," the man, apparently Palis, said, rising. He wore a sleeveless gray shirt, which appeared to be armor, which exposed his two mechanical arms. His gray jeans had rips in the knees, and his right shoulder had an odd tattoo on it, two half circles connected by a line, as well as three black stripes right beside it. Blake noted he had a tattoo on his right eye to match Doppel's scar. Doppel ran a hand through his hair, looking over Blake and Yang. "I apologize for her," he said. He had an Atlesian accent, so Yang guessed he was a local. 

"No worries," Yang said slowly. "But...Ozpin's dead, pal."

Palis gave Doppel a glare. Doppel chuckled, putting two fingers over her mouth. However, this made her fall over, finally losing her balance. She hit the ground with a thud, but just as quickly was back on her feet--both of them, this time. "I'm okay!" she cried, holding her hands into the air. 

Palis sighed. "Yes. Ozpin is dead. We knew that already, Doppel." 

Doppel laughed. "Whoops."

"We needed to talk to General Ironwood," Palis told her. "So. Let's get going--if he's not too busy, maybe he'll hear us out."

"Hey, we can bring you," Yang offered. "Yeah, we're staying at Atlas's academy."

Blake reached over and poked Yang's shoulder. "Day off," the faunus reminded. "We can do that later." Her scroll rang, and she frowned, pulling it out, and answering. "Ruby. What's wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm--headed back to Atlas Academy," Ruby answered. "A bunch of people just flew in on a stolen airbus...I arrested two of them."

"You okay?" Yang asked. 

There was a slight pause. "One of the ones I arrested has an...interesting Semblance," Ruby replied. "Claims to be unable to control it. I'm fine, but my Aura's down." Another pause. "Be on the lookout for their teammates--guy with white hair and a girl with red. The guy has prosthetic hands, both have a distinctive mark over their right eye."

"Hey, like the people we just--" Yang looked around. Palis and Doppel were gone. 

"Oh no," Blake said, sighing. "Day off over?"

"Yes," Yang said firmly, rising. 

  
Palis considered the situation for a time. Doppel followed him, cartwheeling repeatedly along the ground beside him. 

"Shade and Riot have been arrested," he said slowly. 

"Mm-hmm," Doppel agreed. 

"Ironwood was supposed to be on Ozpin's side," Palis continued, scratching his chin. "So, they might be able to convince him we're all on the same side--opposing Salem."

"Sounds about right," Doppel agreed. They stopped, balancing on their arms, when Palis stopped. "You're worried about them?" the non-binary girl asked. 

"Yes," Palis said. 

Doppel's arms kicked in the air for a minute, then they rolled and landed on their feet. Doppel punched Palis's shoulder. "The General's on our side," they said confidently. 

Palis couldn't argue with their boundless optimism. "Fine," he conceded. "We...just have to explain the stolen airbus to him. Then we continue fighting Salem."

"Something I can get behind," a voice said from behind. With a start, Palis realized it was the blonde from the dance party. He looked around, then back to her. "Hi?"

"You're against Salem, too?" she asked. "I figure you wouldn't have been lying about that, as you weren't aware of our presence just now. So you had no one to lie to."

"She's good," Doppel whispered to Palis. "If I had been lying to her, I'm sure she would have noticed!"

"At the very least," the black-haired faunus girl said, "we'll bring you to Ironwood. I'm sure he'll know what to do."

"I give you my thanks," Palis said, a broad grin splitting his face. "And we'll be able to apologize for stealing an airbus."

"Eh," the blonde shrugged. "Don't sweat it. He wasn't that mad when he heard we stole one."


	4. Chapter 4

Riot had noticed from the red-hooded girl's stance, actions, and behavior that she was skilled. She wasn't overly confident in that skill, Riot guessed, and Riot wasn't sure whether or not the girl knew what her silver eyes entailed. She had, however, immediately run right into Shade's Semblance, and had spent the entire ride to Atlas Academy with her Aura down. 

Which had _not_ improved her opinion of the two Huntresses-in-training. 

Now, Shade and Riot were both handcuffed, waiting in an empty office, with the Ruby Rose girl leaning against a wall, her weapon out. Her 'uncle', if Riot had to guess, was more casual and relaxed. He, and his friend-- _Clover, if I heard him properly_ _-_ -sat on the General's desk, waiting. 

"So," the elderly Huntsman said. "Know any jokes?"

"Qrow," Ruby snapped. She glared at him, lips drawn to a line. 'Qrow' was clearly the more experienced Huntsman--even if Riot guessed by age, and nothing else. "Do not fraternize with the prisoners!"

"Where did you even learn that word? 'Fraternize'?" Qrow shook his head, annoyed. "Jimmy's taking his sweet time--" _He referred to the General by a nickname? How high up is this guy?_ "--and we're guarding two unarmed young women. It's _fine,_ Ruby."

"Since when is she the paranoid one?" Clover asked with a chuckle. 

The comment appeared to hit home. Ruby stiffened immediately, posture straightening. "I am not paranoid," she snapped. 

"Blake said the same thing, and she only recently got over it," Qrow said with a shrug. "Kid, a little paranoia is very little to come out with after all you've been through."

 _A hard life, then._ Riot knew what that was like. Her hand unconsciously went to the scars on her stomach, which Clover noticed but, thankfully, didn't mention. "What were your names again?"

"She's Shade Broker, I'm Riot Reeves," Riot answered. Then a thought struck her. "A minute ago...you said...'Blake'?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "What's it to you?"

"Yeah," Qrow said. "Blake Belladonna. You know her?"

"I was her next-door neighbor on Menagerie," Riot said with a laugh, following Qrow's lead and ignoring Ruby's comment. "We practically grew up together."

"I'll call her up, and see if Blake can confirm it," Clover said. Before he could say anything else, General Ironwood entered the room, followed by Riot's other teammates, Palis and Doppel, as well as two people she didn't recognize. 

Or, rather, one person she didn't recognize. "That is you!" Riot cried. 

"Riot?" Blake exclaimed, clearly surprised. "How have you been? It's been years!"

"Many years," Riot agreed. "And...I've been rather well, all things considered." 

"So you do know her," Qrow said. 

"Ahem," Shade cleared her throat, then held up her cuffed hands. "Is someone okay with taking these off?"

"Oh, sure thing," Blake said, stepping over. 

"Don't touch her," Ruby put in. "Her Semblance drains Auras."

"Not mine, so, if you undo my cuffs, I can undo hers," Riot said. Why Shade's Semblance didn't work on Riot was up for debate--and had been for a while. But Blake quickly pulled out a set of keys, undoing Riot's cuffs. 

"Did you finally leave the Fang?" Riot asked. 

"Yes," Blake said. "Almost two years ago, now."

"I'm confused," Palis said, running a prosthetic hand through his white hair. "You two know each other?"

"My house was right next to the Belladonna's mansion," Riot explained, rubbing her wrists. She took the key from Blake and quickly undid Shade's Semblance. 

"We had her over almost every day," Blake added. "If I had known you were here--"

"Unfortunately, we were met by a...less than amiable Huntress," Shade said. "Sorry again 'bout the Semblance."

Ruby glared at her. 

"Leave Officer No-Funsky alone," Riot said, punching Shade's shoulder. "She's just in a sour mood."

"You could try turning that frown aaaaaaaall the way around," Doppel said, cartwheeling into the room. They balanced on their hands, smiling up at Ruby. 

Ruby glared at them. 

" _Ruby's_ being Officer No-Funsky?" the blonde woman asked, confused. "Damn, you must be more stressed than I thought you were."

"Can it, Yang," Ruby said, rubbing her forehead with her spare hand. Her other hand, Riot noted, was kept on her weapon. 

"I imagine you had a reason for stealing an airbus?" Ironwood asked. 

"Actually," Yang cut in, "same reason we stole one. They're coming here to help stop Salem."

Palis nodded. "Blondie here explained a bit of the stuff we missed," he said. "She's with team RWBY--Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang."

"It was a looong drive over, so we had a _lot_ of chatting time," Doppel said, balancing on the toes of one foot. They ballerina-twirled around, laughing. 

"We would have come here...well, _literally_ any other way, but you closed the borders," Shade said. 

"Why Atlas, though?" Ruby asked. 

"Because we heard Ozpin was here," Shade said. "Or, at least, who he reincarnated into."

Several of the people in the room stiffened--Ruby first and foremost. "We...had some info that could potentially bring Salem down," Shade said. "I just wanted to double check with Ozpin to see if it would work."

"Ozpin...isn't talking to anyone, at the moment," Qrow said carefully. "What was this plan of yours?"

"We found her base," Shade said, equally carefully. "So...a ballistic missile. That would bring her fortress down, and, hopefully, her with it."


	5. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapters! I've had writer's block here lately, and this is what I managed to come out with during the short periods I've felt able to write something of quality content.

Tyrian idly rolled a coin across his fingers, seated in their temporary base for the night. Arthur sighed, looking over the encoded messages from Salem. 

"What are Her Grace's orders?" the serial killer asked, cocking his head at Arthur. 

"Apparently, we've learned from your previous battles with team SPDR," Arthur said in his dry tone of voice. "She realized that sending you against them again would not end well in the current circumstances."

"They're just too damn evasive," Tyrian cried, sitting up, the coin clattering to the ground in front of him. He sighed, then reclined back, picking up the pocket change and rolling it across his fingers again. 

"And with Atlas watching everything right now," Arthur added, "you'd be caught. No, Salem's diverting some of her forces. The Blade is no longer hunting the Spring Maiden--Salem diverted him to come and deal with those four."

"That prick?" Tyrian asked skeptically. 

"Prick or no," Arthur replied, "he's more skilled than you by a mile. And he may have had one prior meeting with SPDR..." Arthur's mustache wriggled. "...it ended in a crushing defeat for them."

Tyrian reluctantly nodded, agreeing to the Nameless Blade's skill. "He's one of the best," he said slowly. "But doesn't he need to hunt the Maiden?"

"Apparently, they take precedence," Arthur said. "Salem isn't taking well to her former minions' betrayal, it would appear."

"Because she misjudged them," Tyrian said, tossing the coin into the air and catching it. "The Queen does not like being wrong."

Arthur looked back at the faunus. "Then again, does anyone?"

Tyrian considered that. "No," he agreed. "I can't think of anyone who enjoys being wrong."

Arthur looked back at the computer. "Well, Jacques won the election, but we didn't get the push needed to throw Ironwood out of office. I'm sure Jacques can manage..." Tyrian pocketed the coin, rising and stretching. "Well, is there anyone you _do_ need me to kill?"

"If you get the chance, feel free to take out any of those four," Arthur replied. "I can't say the Blade has been stingy about his kills, Tyrian."

"True."

"But leave Shade and Riot alone for now. The team leader's Semblance can take out human combatants with a tap, and Riot's silver eyes make her particularly useful, given the circumstances."

"So Doppel and...Palis." A wide grin split Tyrian's face, and he turned his head sideways. "Good."


	6. Chapter 6

"It just might work," Ironwood said, looking over the map. He stroked his beard, thinking. "We've prototyped a missile like the one you're suggesting...and while Salem may be powerful with magic, I don't know if she's _that_ powerful."

"Her raw power is a bit hyped," Shade confirmed. When the general looked at her, she sighed. "Truth is, before we realized the _full_ extent of what she was and what she was doing, we worked for her. All four of us." 

The comment hung in the air for a minute. "I'm not going to sit around making excuses," Shade continued. "We were prepared to do bad things, and we did do a number of them. But we all realized exactly how bad Salem was, and we left."

"How do we know you're not still working for Salem?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Shade met her eyes, saying firmly, "If I were, I wouldn't have mentioned it."

"Unless you planned on banking on that excuse."

"Oh for the love of--" Shade stood up, throwing the map aside. "It's people like _you_ that have allowed Salem to get as far as she has. People who'd rather assume they're the only one who's right than trust somebody else." She pointed one finger at Ruby. "People like _you_ that allowed the Fall of Beacon to happen."

"Didn't see you trying to stop it," Ruby growled, standing up straight. 

Riot suddenly threw herself between the two, shoving them away from each other. "Okay, let's tear Salem down, _then_ go for each other's throats, kay? You'll have plenty of time for pointless bickering when the fate of the world isn't at stake."

Shade backed up, then sighed. "Fine."

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, staying silent. 

Riot sighed in relief, then turned back to Ironwood. "Do you have a missile that could do the trick?"

"Easily," Ironwood said, nodding. "If this works...ugh...but I'm still dealing with trying to keep Mantle safe..."

"I'm sure the council would understand if they knew exactly what they were dealing with," Doppel stated, balancing on one hand, feet kicking straight up into the air. 

"She's right," Clover said with a nod. 

"They," Doppel corrected. "I prefer 'they'."

Clover frowned, but nodded anyway. "They are right," he corrected himself. 

Ironwood's scroll beeped, and he pulled it out, frowning. "How the hell did Jacques win?"

"Who? What?" Palis shrugged. "Okay. I'm lagging a bit behind here."

"Extra seat in the council. Jacques Schnee won," Clover said, looking over at Ironwood's scroll. "A close win, but still."

"Who decided that the Schnees needed any more power than they already have?" Riot said with fury. 

Weiss almost said something at that, but Blake spoke first. "Doesn't matter. I'm sure even _he_ will see the gravity of the situation."

"I mean, he can't be that bad, right?" Doppel asked, for once standing up normally. They put one finger on their lips, looking around at everyone. "Right?"

"You'd be surprised," Weiss muttered. Riot gave her a confused look, then recognition sparked in her face. She stayed silent, however. 

"If you tell the council about Salem, then they'd surely be willing to help launch a missile," Yang said. 

"Yeah," Ironwood said with a nod. 

For some reason that Shade couldn't read, Weiss and Ruby shared a look. Shade frowned, but decided against saying anything. 

"Regardless," Ironwood said, "it's night now. And you four probably need a place to stay, right?"

Doppel nodded. "Yeah. We've had a loooong day, between stealing an airbus, fighting a couple of Atlesian Knights, and that Hydra."

"You fought a hydra?" Blake asked, stunned. 

"More of, tried," Riot said with a shrug. 

"Ruby, would you mind showing them to a room?" Ironwood asked. 

" _Yes,_ " Ruby said firmly. Then she stomped outside the office, slamming the door behind her. 

"I'll do it," Blake said. "Yang, you're her sister. Would you mind talking to her?"

"Not at all," Yang said stretching out her arms. Glancing at Riot, she kissed Blake on the cheek before following her sister. 

Riot seemed mildly surprised, but said only, "Alright! Let's see our room!" 


	7. Chapter 7

The window never stood a chance against the Nameless Blade. A gauntleted hand closed the window, a single red stripe going down the back of the armor. He looked over to one of the two beds in the room, where Ruby and Weiss slept. He peaked over at the silver-eye, a single, red eye watching over the two women, sleeping soundly. Ruby had one arm around Weiss's shoulders, he noted. He turned and strode to the other bed, looking down at the two women sleeping there. 

Yang leaned back on her pillow, her girlfriend resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. He looked them up and down, and listened to the quiet breathing. Blake's breath almost sounded like...purring. 

Amused, he reached over and scratched one of Blake's ears. She seemed to settle herself into a more contented position. 

But this wasn't his target or his purpose. His boots made no sound against the ground, and the only part anyone awake would have seen in the black might have been the red stripe running from the ankle to the knee. 

But no one was awake. He crept out the door, closing it and going to the room on the right. No one noticed him enter, of course, and he stalked over to the first bunk bed. Oscar Pine sat on the bottom, Jaune Arc on top. He turned and looked to the other bed, where, despite having two separate beds, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie slept on the same bed. He turned his attention back to Oscar. The young man appeared to be sleeping fitfully. Then, his eyes opened wide, and he sat up straight, looking around the room. 

No one was there. Oscar looked around the room, frowning, then whispered, so as not to wake his teammates, "Did you wake me, Oz?"

The room was silent for a long minute. Oscar got the feeling, however, of danger, which he took as a confirmation. He rose, picking up the cane from where it sat, and exited the room, heading to the right. So he didn't see the figure appearing in the air behind him, black cape billowing behind him. 

As Ozpin was down the right, the Blade went left. 

To the left of RWBY's room. He crept over to the first bed, and was glad to note that Shade and Riot slept soundly on it. Shade, he noted, wasn't wearing her shirt--giving him a good view of the massive hole in her chest, and exposed heart. The only thing keeping her alive was the Aura crackling over the hole. She probably could have gotten a cybernetic implant--and was probably going to, he reasoned. Riot had her arms protectively wrapped around her partner. He turned and went over to the other bed. 

Palis and Doppel weren't a couple. But Palis felt comfortable sleeping beside other people. Cause of how he'd been hurt. None of the rest of his team knew _exactly_ how hurt he was. But Tyrian had done bad things to him. 

The Blade turned his gaze to Doppel, and found himself meeting their eyes. A crimson cutlass was pinned against his breastplate, and the red eye insignia he wore. "Sh," he said, raising one hand to where his lips were. They were covered by the helmet, but Doppel understood. "Everyone's sleeping," he said. He turned and opened the window, then jumped out. Doppel sat up straight, glaring out the window where he'd gone. Then, they pulled out their cutlass, moved a stool to the middle of the room, and took up watch. 

"Your security's shit, General."

Ironwood rose up from the documents he'd been looking at, towards team SPDR. Teams RWBY and JNOR(Jaune, Nora, Oscar, Ren) had assembled as well. "Care to elaborate?" Ironwood asked. 

"One of Salem's minions walked _right into_ your school," Doppel said. "He paraded around, looking through your rooms."

"This guy was in our room," Oscar confirmed. "I...sort of sensed him, I guess."

Ironwood stood up immediately. "Who?"

"Not anyone you'd know," Shade said. "His name is...well, he claims to not have one, but everyone calls him the Nameless Blade."

"He's a Grimm," Doppel said. "One that can think like humans and faunus."

"He's dangerous," Riot said. She folded her arms over her chest, frowning. "And, bonus points, my silver eyes don't work on him."

Ruby frowned. "How is that possible?"

"We've only fought him once," Palis admitted grimly. "He kicked our asses."

Riot traced a finger along the three scars on her stomach. Each one was a single line running horizontally along her stomach. "He's the one who gave me these," she said. Shade put a protective hand on the faunus's shoulder, which Riot seemed to like. 

"Does he have Aura?" Ren asked. 

"Deathstalkers don't, and that doesn't make them any easier to take down," Palis said. "That guy doesn't _need_ Aura. He's got armor, and a sword, and can create magical forcefields."

"Sounds like he needs someone to _break his kneecaps!_ " Nora cried, smashing her fists together. 

There was a long silence. Then, Palis held up a hand, and Nora fist bumped him. "Break his kneecaps," Palis agreed. 


	8. Chapter 8

Yang opened the door into SPDR's room, frowning, Blake right behind her. Palis and Doppel were somewhere unknown. Shade, however, was sitting on her bed, leafing through a catalog. Riot stood up beside her, arms folded. 

"I got your text," Yang said, holding up her scroll. "You said you had something you needed me for?"

"Just a little help, please," Shade said. "If it's not too personal...where'd you get your prosthetic?"

Yang blinked, then held up her mechanical arm. "Um...Pietro. The guy who built Penny."

"Does he charge a lot?" Shade asked, biting her lip. It was clear the topic was stressing her out as much as it was stressing Yang out. 

"Look, I didn't handle any of the stuff for this," Yang said. "That was dad."

"Oh." Shade sighed. 

"Why do you need to know about prosthetics, anyway?" Yang asked, raising a curious eyebrow. 

Shade unbuttoned the top button on her shirt, opening it a little, exposing a massive hole in her chest. "I mentioned I worked for Salem, right?" she said. "Did I ever say how I met her?" 

Yang couldn't take her eyes off of Shade's exposed heart and blood vessels. "A hit and run from some terrorist. Wanted to make people panic. Using some kind of ridiculous Dust. Salem found me afterwards. Used a simple spell to keep me alive. Practically raised me." She paused. "But the spell kinda wears off, so I'll need an implant of I want to stay alive. And it kinda has to be soon."

"Oh." Yang ran a hand through her hair. "On the bright side, I know Pietro. He's a nice guy, and I'm sure he'd be willing to help."

"You've met Salem?" Blake sat down beside her. 

"Maybe scoot a little back," Shade cautioned. "Yeah. I did meet her."

"What's she like?"

Shade raised an eyebrow at the faunus. Riot chuckled. "That's a loaded question."

"Now _I'm_ curious," Yang said, sitting by Blake. "I've never seen her. I barely know what she looks like."

"She's a total bitch," Riot said. 

"Riot!" Shade exclaimed. 

"It's true!" Riot said. 

"She was more of a mother to me than my actual mother," Shade admitted, looking away. "I...she did raise me. And it's not that I'm ungrateful, it's..." She shook her head. "I'm not talking about this. Palis and Doppel have met her, and so have you, Riot. You guys talk about this...when I'm not around." She got up and left, bringing the magazine with her. 

Riot took a seat beside her. "Wrong topic to bring up, Blakey."

"Sorry." 

"Salem...Salem has that sort of human feel, right? You look at her, you think human. But...the longer you're around her...the more cracks you notice." Riot snorted. "The _inhumanity._ The monstrous side. The coldness. She likes to pretend she's emotionless. But she is so _furious_ all the time. Shade doesn't want to talk about it because Salem does have a...motherly side. She does feel all emotions, and she did act kind of mushy sometimes." Riot stopped. "But she just _hates._ She hates, and hates, and hates. You remember that thing you once said, Blakey? About a word describing a person? I think Salem's word is just _hate._ "

There was a long silence. 

"Hey, wait a minute," Yang said. "You grew up on Menagerie with Blake, right?"

"Yeah. What's odd 'bout that?"

"And Shade was raised by Salem." Yang paused, letting that sink in. "How did you two ever meet?"

Riot thought that over, then laughed. She slapped her leg, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "Is _that_ a story for the ages. Remember Adam? The Prick Supreme?"

"He's dead now," Blake said. 

"Hell yes," Riot said. "Well, it was shortly after you left him. I'd decided to make my way to Vale, to enroll in Beacon..."


	9. Past: Moon Burn

Riot Reeves wished upon the Brothers that she'd chosen any form of transportation other than walking. 

"Gods, why didn't I just catch a train or something?" she said to the sky. 

"This way's free," the Huntsman laughed. Riot had joined up with a small caravan heading for Vale, and the two Huntsmen guarding it. 

"We're moving slowly enough so I might actually miss the test," she moaned. 

"At the very least," he said, "you're giving Bleue some eye candy." Riot looked ahead to the Huntress, who, sure enough, was staring at the bat faunus. She looked away with a blush, and Riot looked down at her clothing--a rather immodest sash around her chest and black jeans, revealing a lot of her midriff. 

"She's into women?" Riot asked quietly, staring off at the Huntress. 

A twinkle shone in the Huntsman's eye. "Yeah. And asking her about it might lead you to some fun."

Riot felt a blush creep up her cheeks. "What's your name again?"

"Kopper," the man laughed. 

"The color matches your hair," Riot noted. 

"Yeah, but it's with a K," he said with a grimace. "I sometimes wish they could have spelled it normally."

"Oi, it ain't as bad as mine," she replied, a hand on her hip. 

"Riot is a cool-ass name," Kopper stated in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Yeah, but I've spent my life writing books on ending racial discrimination," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Ending things like the White Fang? Speaking out against Jacques Schnee?"

"Oh." Kopper thought that over. "Now that you mention it, that might be a little bit hard to deal with."

"Yeah! I'm just like, 'oh! I write books on peace within our borders!' 'Oh! What's your name?' 'Oh, it's fucking Riot!'"

"I don't think people say 'oh' that much," Kopper noted. 

"I dunno, I've heard it said a lot," the woman on Riot's left said. Riot turned to her. The woman wore a blue, unbuttoned jacket and a red undershirt with long jeans. She skipped along the ground, only letting one foot touch the stone at a time, with both hands stretched out to the side. Her fuzzy red hair was worn loose. "The name's Doppel, by the way," she said. 

"Nice to meet you?" Riot said, finding the interruption more than a little rude. 

Doppel suddenly flipped forward, landing on her hands before cartwheeling onto her feet on Kopper's right. "Yo! Shade! Tyrian! Over here!"

"For the love of the Goddess," a feminine voice exclaimed. A woman in a militaristic buttoned shirt and skirt strode over, with silver buttons. She tossed her head, gray hair landing on her shoulders. "You can't keep running off like this!"

"You owe me lien, Shade" Doppel said with a grin. 

"What?" Shade said, looking exhausted. 

"Rare genetic perk lottery!" Doppel cried, doing a barrel roll and landing on Shade's left. Somehow, she still managed to keep the pace. "Silver eyes are a rare genetic perk!"

Shade looked at Riot, then sighed. "Oooh," another voice chimed in--presumably, the 'Tyrian' Doppel had called over. A man in a dark brown coat and white leggings, but the coat was made so that it revealed a muscled--and heavily scarred--chest. "What was it you said? That the 'scatterbrained legion' would never succeed? That 'the ditzy duo' wouldn't--"

"Point. Made. Tyrian," Shade growled. She pulled at her face, sighing, then turned to Riot with a curious expression. And she smiled. A not-good smile. The same smile that many people gave and only a few people meant. "I must apologize for them," she said. "They're...rambunctious. But pray tell, Silver-Eye; what happens to be your name?"

"Riot," the faunus said carefully. She decided then and there that she didn't trust the gray haired woman. 

"Shade sounds like she was a mega creep," Yang said. 

"Oh, she totally was," Riot agreed with a nod. "And I later learned that my mistrust was earned."

"What?" Blake shared a look with Yang. 

"Oh come on," Riot grinned, putting a hand on her hip. "Salem's minions, finding a silver-eyed huntsman-in-training? What do you think she was planning on doing, baking a cake? Shade was trying to kill me."

Riot flew up into the tree, sitting beside Bleue on the night watch. "So. Kopper. Is he...your friend or..."

Bleue looked around, then said, "Uh, yeah. Just friend."

 _Thank the gods, she's just as awkward at this kinda thing as I am,_ Riot thought. She looked Bleue up and down--with a deep blue coat and leggings, casual T-shirt and dark blue bowler hat, the woman was strikingly beautiful. Riot just hoped her flirting skills hadn't gotten rusty. 

"So...what do you plan on doing in Vale?"

She sat there for a minute, then asked, "Kopper told you I'm gay, didn't he?"

Riot felt glad Bleue wasn't a faunus, and couldn't see her blush in the dark. "Yeeees," she said slowly. 

"Gods damn him!" Bleue burst out. "That stupid bastard's trying to...argh!"

Riot looked around awkwardly, realizing she'd been caught up in something she had no wish to be involved in. She jumped from the tree, using her wings to catch the air and start to drift to the ground. 

"Wait, don't go!" 

Against her better judgement, Riot flew back up. "You okay?"

"I...had a bad breakup here recently," Bleue said apologetically. "She...it just didn't work out. And Kopper's trying to hook me up with every gay woman he sees! That rat--" She cut off, peering out of the trees leaves. 

"It's that Tyrian creep," Riot noted. "What's he doing?"

"You're the one who can see in the dark," Bleue muttered. "It looks like he's creeping off into the forest."

"That's dangerous," Riot noted. "And suspicious." They shared a look. "My gut told me that his other two friends were off as well."

If Tyrian was trying to hide, which it looked like he was doing, he was doing a poor job. He crept through bush after bush, sneaking farther and farther away from camp. Bleue called Kopper and told him to keep watch while she and Riot investigated. 

Tyrian entered a clearing, meeting up with Doppel and Shade. Then he began talking, using large expressive hand gestures. Shade and Doppel listened, the former standing stock still, the other doing a handstand. Riot snuck through the treetops, getting closer. 

She still couldn't hear what Tyrian was saying. Which meant he was speaking very quietly, which wasn't the impression Riot got from his motions. 

Her gaze turned to Shade. 

_And she met her blue eyes._

Shade quickly looked away, which only cemented Riot's realization. 

"It's a trap," she hissed to Bleue. Just in time to see a pair of boots collide with the Huntress and throw the other woman aside. Riot leapt out of the tree tops, evading a crimson sword meant for her. She landed beside Bleue, who had drawn her mace. 

Which was when the second Doppel landed next to the first one, a red cutlass held in her hands. The other one was unarmed, Riot noted. "You alright?" 

"Kopper's on his way," Bleue said. "That'll slightly turn the numbers advantage."

"Ha! Keep dreaming," the unarmed Doppel said, holding up a hand for a fist bump. The other one happily obliged with her spare hand. 

"What do you want?" Riot demanded, pulling out her knife. A small hunting knife. 

"Straight to the point!" Tyrian gasped, a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "I like her. But, as she is a woman, I'll let you have her."

"Not everyone's as pervy as you," Shade snapped, glaring at the man. Turning back to Riot, she said, "We want _you._ "

Riot raised an eyebrow. "I'm not interested."

"Not optional," Shade said, with a semi-apologetic shrug. "Mother wants you to come over for a visit, and it would be rude to turn her down." 

"Fuck politeness," Riot returned. "And your mom," she added. 

The immature insult had no effect on Shade. "Why does no one take the easy route?" she lamented. 

"What is this about?" Riot demanded, raising an eyebrow. 

"Mother could explain," Shade said, tapping her chin and looking off to the side. "If you're interested."

"Not interested," Riot said, pointing the dagger at the gray haired woman. 

Shade sighed. "Well, this is what you two are for, isn't it?" she asked. 

The two Doppels and Tyrian shared a grin. 


	10. Past: Sting

"Wait, wait, wait," Yang said, holding up one hand. "Doppel and Tyrian, working together?"

"You know Tyrian?" Riot asked, seeming surprised. 

"Yeah, he tried to kidnap Ruby," Yang said. "I wasn't there at the time, but she called him 'Creep Supreme'."

"That describes him pretty well," Riot agreed. "And as for Doppel, they were raised in the same cult as Tyrian."

"A cult of Salem?" Blake asked. 

"No, but founded by her," Riot said. "To trick people into working for her. Doppel still actually worships 'the Goddess', and I'm fairly certain Shade does as well...both just decided that Salem wasn't who they thought. Or, Doppel did. Shade...Shade thinks Salem has the ability to change for the better. The rest of us don't. Shade just...doesn't think any of us can change her." Riot looked away. "I think, on the inside, she's hoping that Salem will survive the missile and realize that Shade tried to kill her, and then will change."

Yang thought that over, turning the words around in her head. 

"Where was I?" Riot suddenly asked. "Oh, right. Facing down the four...er...the lot of them."

Riot slammed into a tree, pain crawling up her back. She managed, however, to knife the Doppel clone once it got close. It dispersed into blue smoke, leaving Riot with just the original, who held her cutlass high, a look of annoyance on her face. She'd created two clones, both of which Riot had painstakingly defeated. And if she had to guess, the blue crackle that flashed around Doppel when she created a clone indicated that it took chunks of her Aura to create them. 

_So maybe...she's running low._

It was a slim hope, but a desperate one. Doppel was among the most skilled fighters Riot had seen. Bleue was, for the moment, evading Tyrian's attacks, so Riot turned to Doppel. Doppel stared down the length of her blade, then grinned, holding the blade sideways with the hand guard facing Riot. Which was when two submachine guns poked out of it and opened fire. Riot dodged to the side as bullets sprayed the tree she'd slammed into, bits of bark flying into the air. 

_Okay, fucker, you wanna go ranged?_ Riot thought angrily at the woman. Her knife swapped to a revolver and, leaping over the spray of bullets, she pointed it at Doppel. Riot smiled as red light accumulated at the tip of the gun, and she fired. 

Doppel deflected the bullet. The impact, however, staggered her, knocking her off balance, and the wayward bullet hit Tyrian head on and exploded with a flash of brilliant red light. Tyrian smashed into a tree, which cracked and fell over backwards. 

"What the hell?" Shade exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Duh," Doppel said, thumping her head. "She has some sort of explosion bullet Semblance. _Yoiks!"_ The last was said as she backflipped out of the way of another blast, then ducked beneath a second, and somersaulted over a third. 

"Just get shot already!" Riot muttered, firing repeatedly with her revolver. 

A spray of bullets collided with her, knocking her out the air, her red Aura crackling. She managed to land on her feet, but Tyrian intercepted her, kicking viciously at her. Riot blocked with her left hand, swapping her revolver to a knife and swing at Tyrian's face. Tyrian leaned back, then slashed. Riot blocked with the knife as it glowed red, and Tyrian slid backwards. 

"Get back here!" Bleue cried, swinging her mace around. 

"Behind you!" Riot cried. The huntress turned around, just in time for Shade to boop her on the nose. The reaction was instantaneous. Her blue Aura flashed and disappeared, and her scroll began beeping rapidly. Bleue cried out in pain, falling to the ground, mace forgotten. "Okay, here's the deal. If you don't surrender..." She put one boot on Bleue's back. The Huntress gritted her teeth, clearly in intense pain. "Be warned, my Semblance can give some preeeety nasty scars."

"Run," Bleue said, gritting her teeth. 

Riot stood stock still for a moment, then held out and dropped her weapon. She went down on her knees, hands on her head. Doppel retrieved the knife, while Tyrian bound her hands. Shade moved her foot, and Bleue's body immediately relaxed, and she began breathing in and out heavily. 

"Let's go before the other guy finds us," Shade said, taking the lead. Tyrian actually picked Riot up, bridal-style, and began carrying her after the other two. Doppel began doing acrobatic maneuvers around the other two of them. 

"Tyrian!" Doppel whined, drawing out all the vowel sounds as long as possible. "It's your turn to carry her!"

"Summon a clone, they can do it for you!"

"That'll still be me doing it! They all have my mind and soul, Tyrian, and you know it!"

"My arms are tired..."

"You're taller than I am!"

"And my arms are still tired!"

"It's your turn!"

"No it's noooot."

"You two idiots do realize," Shade hissed, turning around and looking at them, "that she has _legs?_ She can carry herself!"

"I've honestly been waiting for someone to notice," Riot said, as she was set down on her feet. She briefly considered running for it, but as she trudged along the open road, she realized there was not only nowhere to hide, but there was nowhere to go. She didn't know where she was, her hands were bound, and she was unarmed. If a Grimm appeared, she'd be on the plate for dinner. 

"Why didn't you mention it?" Doppel complained. 

"Because you kidnapped me?" Riot said, looking around. 

"Oh. Right. Well, the last guy we kidnapped was kind enough to say he could walk!"

"You weren't even supposed to kidnap him," Shade muttered, probably thinking it was too quiet for any of the other three to hear. 

The only sound for a long minute was the sound of crunching gravel. "In my defense," Tyrian said, "Her Grace's orders were frightfully unspecific that day."

Shade shot him a glare over her shoulder, then turned her gaze to the road in front of her and stomped ahead of the group. 

"She's having a bad day," Doppel told Riot apologetically. 

"So am I! You fucking kidnapped me!" Riot burst out angrily. 

"Oh! Right." Doppel frowned. "Not a good morning, then."

"Where are we even headed?" Riot demanded, looking around at the sparsely wooded area around them. 

"We're going to go see Mistress Salem!" Doppel said enthusiastically. 

"Where _is_ this Salem person?" Riot asked. 

"I don't know the name, but I do know my way there," Tyrian said. 

"Hey," Doppel said, suddenly sounding alarmed. "Shade. Where are we?"

"On the path."

"Which path? To where?"

Shade stopped in the middle of the road, turning to Doppel. "You had the map."

"I did?"

"You said this was the way."

"When?"

There was a long stunned silence. 

"Why not just shoot me now?" Riot asked. "Please? Much quicker and easier than starving to death in the wilderness."

Shade took a long, deep breath, then pulled out her scroll. She held it to her ear a moment, then said, "Hi. Roman, I know you're a little busy...but I could use a hand." Riot couldn't hear the reply, but Shade said, "I made the mistake of putting Doppel in charge of the map, so I don't know where we are. Yeah, I know it's my own fault for putting these two in charge. Just home in on my scroll! We put those tracker things in it! What do I care what you tell Cinder? Tell her you're helping me out! Wha--I'm higher rank than her!" She fumed a minute, then sighed. "We'll sit tight, then."

"Is there more?" Blake asked when Riot stopped. 

"A lot more," the other replied. "But it's probably going to wait for another time. I have other stuff I planned on doing today." She rose, stretching. "I'll continue this story some other time." She smiled at them, then left the room. 

"If, somehow, they end up getting kids..." Yang shook her head. "That's gonna be one hell of a story."

Blake nodded. "Agreed."


	11. Chapter 11

Blake and Yang entered the sparring room, intent on cool down exercises after the day's hard work. They entered the room just in time to see Nora slam right into the wall beside them. She slid to the ground, pink Aura crackling around her, groaning in pain. "Ow," she said, drawing out the sounds. 

"Sorry!" Doppel cartwheeled over, landing on their feet, wringing their hands together. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"

"She--they are tough," Nora said. 

A voice laughed. Palis strode over, running a hand through his hair. Yang noted that pieces of Dust were sticking out of his prosthetics. In addition, he had a ring of Dust cartridges strapped around his chest, and more cartridges in his belt, and another cartridge sticking out of his boot. He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling. "They're the most skilled out of all of us," he said. "Doppel can take out any other member of our team. As for me..." He shrugged. "I was holding out against that Ren guy, up until he and Jaune double teamed me." He paused a minute as Jaune and Ren came over. "Which he only did because of a poor decision on my part, so yeah."

"He did say two against one," Jaune said with an apologetic shrug. 

"I did," Palis agreed. "I just underestimated Jaune. I figured, like Shade, he'd be the weakest team member, combat wise."

Yang set up a punching bag. "Care to help me with this?"

"Okay." Palis steadied the bag as Yang began throwing punches. "What's your day been like?"

"We took out a Chimaera," Yang said. "One that had wandered too close to Mantle."

"Yikes. Chimaeras are tough." Palis grunted as he blocked the bag from swinging around too much. "The General gave us actual Huntsmen licenses. But none of us actually started any work. Riot's still resting off a leg injury, and my arms needed to be rewired."

"I kept busy," Doppel said. "I fought a pack of Sabyrs."

Palis shrugged apologetically. "Did you do anything non-work related?" he asked. 

"Had a chat with Riot," Yang said. "About how she and Shade first met."

"Oh! I remember that!" Doppel laughed. 

"You kidnapped her, right?" Palis asked. 

"Top ten ways for two people to become a couple," Doppel snickered. 

"It's how I met Tyrian," Palis said with a shrug. 

Yang's fist came to a stop. 

"Were you and Tyrian a couple?" Ren asked after a pause. 

Palis looked around, then sighed. "Yeah. For a time, before he...well..." He trailed off. 

Doppel put a steadying hand on his shoulder, and he smiled at them. Right before the punching bag hit him in the face. 

"Sorry," Yang said to his cry of pain. "I thought you were still holding it."

"She didn't say the whole story, though," Blake said, turning to Doppel. "She left off at you getting the four of them lost."

"Excuse me, I didn't get us lost!" Doppel said indignantly. "Oh, wait, I did. Yeah, that was totally my fault."

"I remember Roman being very annoyed at that," Palis said. 

"You're in this next part?" Yang asked. 

Palis grinned, despite Yang being unable to see him from the other side of the bag. "You know what? Sure. I'll tell this next part."


	12. Past: Personal

Doppel lead Riot over to a seat. The faunus didn't say anything as she sat down, leaving Doppel to their own thoughts. They cartwheeled over to Shade, who was toying with the hunting knife. Swapping it between revolver and knife mode. 

"Neat toy," Doppel commented. 

Shade didn't answer, so Doppel assumed that they were deep in thought. They casually walked over to Tyrian, who leaned against a wall and thoroughly disregarded the need to put on his seat belt as the Airbus lifted off.

"This thing doesn't have any Dust in it," Shade said, holding up the knife. "The red blasts. That was your Semblance, right?"

Riot didn't answer. 

"Hmm." Shad flipped the knife around, then stopped and examined the hilt. "V-R," she read. 

Riot still said nothing. 

"Like a signature. So is Riot your first name or your last? Who's knife is this really?"

"You are asking a lot of questions, aren't you?"

"I'm curious," Shade said with a shrug. 

Riot glared at her. Shade smiled back. 

Then Riot's hands glowed red, and she grasped the cords binding her firmly. The rope snapped, and she stood, hurling a blast of red energy at the ceiling. Pieces of shrapnel and wires came falling down, clattering to the ground as the Airbus shook. Tyrian rose, but staggered back over as the ship shook. Doppel rushed over, kicking at Riot, who blocked and shoved them off balance. Then, Riot lunged for Shade. 

"That's it," Shade growled, stepping over to Riot. She swung a hand. Riot, as expected, caught the clumsy attack. Shade gave a triumphant smile. 

But nothing happened. Her Semblance didn't work on Riot. The smile faded. Riot kneed her in the stomach, snatched the knife, and then jumped out the side of the Airbus, flying into the air. 

"She got away?" Doppel cried as the Airbus began a fast descent towards the ground. 

Shade looked at her hand. The hand that Riot had touched. _And my Semblance did nothing,_ she thought, amused. Her eyes narrowed. "We are going to find her," she growled. 

Then the Airbus crashed. 

"So what happens next?" Nora asked, sounding entranced. 

"Well, I can't say," Doppel chuckled. "Palis?"

Palis grunted as he blocked the punching back. "Okay, but not we're gonna have to trade off."

When Doppel had a firm grip on the bag, Yang punched it again. The smaller girl somehow managed to keep it in one place. 

Crossing his legs, Palis sat down. "Well, I got a call from Shade a minute or so after. I didn't know about the crash till quite a bit later, but I did hear about the S-K-P. So I went to intercept..."

Riot didn't see him, so she didn't dodge, leaving it entirely to Palis's aim. The lightning Dust hit her wing, and she plummeted from the sky, skidding against the ground in an open field. 

Palis didn't see anyone around, so he counted his luck. He rushed over to the downed Riot. Or, not so downed, as he dodged an energy blast that went right past his head. "Yikes," he said, turning around to the faunus. He rested one hand on his knee, looking her up and down. "You look horrible."

"I've been stabbed, punched, kidnapped, shot, and I just suffered a crash landing _after_ a severe wing injury," Riot said bitterly, pointing a gun at him. "And _you_ are personally responsible for half that."

"Fair enough," he said, noting the numerous cuts and scrapes she had. Absently, he used his Semblance. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the Dust sticking out of his arms, which swapped around to gravity Dust. 

Without him pushing a button. His Semblance transmitted wireless signals to any machine he touched. Including his prosthetic arms. Cocking his head, he said, "So, are you gonna surrender or..." He leaned out of the way as she fired another bullet at him. "Okay. I just wanted to know what we were doing, is all."

He leapt into the air, combat rifles inside his arms firing the Dust. The Gravity Dust propelled him over her, and he landed behind her, throwing a punch. 

Which was mistake number one. 

"Excuse me," Palis said, turning on Doppel. "'Mistake number one'?"

"It seemed right," they replied with a shrug. 

"I'm telling this story," Palis said firmly, jabbing a finger at Doppel. They stuck their tongue out at him. 

"How was that his first mistake?" Blake interrupted, eager to get back to the story. 

Riot blocked, swapping the revolver to a knife, which glowed a fierce red, and blocked his punch. Palis stumbled, knocked off balance by his own attack. He raised up his other hand, and found himself sliding backwards, digging his feet into the ground. 

"Ow," he said. He swapped around to lightning Dust in his left arm, but kept the gravity Dust in his right arm. "Look, you're Aura's down, so if you continue fighting, you're gonna get badly hurt."

Riot glared at him. "You're with Shade, right?"

"Right..."

"She's trying to kidnap me. I can only guess the reasons, but none of them are good."

Palis shrugged. "You're funeral." He fired several lightning bullets. Riot dodged to the side, firing a blast. Palis stepped aside, then rushed in. Riot dodged several of them, then slashed up at Palis's face. He leaned back, then kicked at her. She blocked, but then took a hit to her face. She stumbled back as he punched her several more times, then rammed his right hand into her stomach, firing off a couple rounds to increase the force. Riot skipped across the ground, rolling to a stop. She struggled to her feet, flapping her wings, despite the intense pain it appeared to be causing her. 

"With luck, that injury'll heal," Palis commented, looking at her wing. "You're out of Aura. Please. You can't beat me in this state."

"I can take you!" Riot shouted, taking a step towards you. 

"Oh, probably, if it were a fair fight," Palis said, rubbing his wrists. "Doppel? Care to help?"

Riot cursed foully, spinning around and pointing her knife behind her. Then, lightning coursed through her, and she blacked out. 

"Good gods, did she really fall for it?" Blake said, rubbing her face. 

"Hey, this guy has a great poker face," Jaune said. "I'd have probably believed him, especially if, like Riot, I believed that Doppel was hunting me."

"Oh, I was," Doppel said with a nod. "I just hadn't quite gotten there yet."

Palis's scroll beeped. "Ah, man." He stood up, frowning at it. "Shade's back from her surgery, it appears. I didn't think Pietro would do it that quickly..."

"Well, now there's no rush to do it before she dies," Doppel said, holding up two fingers. "Win-win!" The punching bag hit them in the face, and they cried out, "Yang!"

"Well, it's hardly my fault if you stop holding the bag," Yang said, shrugging. 

"Well, you can ask Shade about the next part tomorrow," Palis said, pocketing his scroll. "Besides, the next part is where...some pretty personal stuff go down between those two. Doppel and I didn't even see most of it."

"I'm still confused about what made Riot work for Salem," Blake said, frowning. 

"From what I understand," Doppel said, stepping over to the faunus, "she planned from the beginning to betray Salem. I don't think, however, that there was ever a time in which Salem didn't know that."

"As old as she is," Palis said, "I don't think anyone can trick her. You only get to be _that_ old by being smart."

 _And being immortal probably helps,_ Yang thought. "Well, see ya tomorrow."


	13. Interlude

Tyrian couldn't help but chuckle, standing over the corpse of the woman. He wasn't sure who she was, but Arthur had said she was on the agenda. And he listened to Arthur, who was actually very smart. But as he stood up, his smile abruptly faded and he spun around to face the figure leaning casually against a wall. Pitch black armor, with no curves--entirely jagged edges. The helmet had only one eye hole, which glowed red and left a faint trail as the head moved. A cape was wrapped over his shoulders, and his clawed hands were crossed over his chest. They had faint red lines going from the back of his hands to his elbows. Tyrian couldn't see it, but he knew the eye insignia was on the Blade's shoulder. 

"How long have you been standing there?" Tyrian demanded. 

"Quite some time," the Blade said. He sounded amused. _Bragging._

Tyrian did his best sneer. "Think you're all that just cause it took me a little longer to notice you?"

"Don't even bother with that 'I'm better than you' act, Callows," the Blade said dryly. "We both know that I'm better than you, so you being the arrogant one doesn't work." He sounded amused. Tyrian couldn't see if the Grimm was smiling, because of the helmet. The only way you knew what the Blade was feeling was through his words--and words were the easiest to lie with. 

Before he could retort, the Blade spoke again. "You know, I do have a plan for dealing with SPDR." He stretched out a hand, five claws flexing and unflexing. "If you're willing to help."

Tyrian raised an eyebrow. 

"It'll get you within range of Palis," the Blade coaxed. He cocked his head sideways. Tyrian tried his best to figure out if the Blade was manipulating him or not, but couldn't decipher the Grimm's poker face. "Don't you two have some...unfinished business?"

 _That_ was an understatement. Tyrian almost shook the hand then and there, but stopped just short. He eyed the Blade's face--or rather, his helmet--with suspicion. 

"We're on the same side, Callows," the Blade said in a tired voice. His voice changed too easily--flowed from condescending to amused to trustworthy. _And besides--shaking his hand will prove Palis right. Right to have left._

"Go fuck yourself," Tyrian snorted, putting his hands on his hips. When the Blade didn't move his hand, Tyrian added, "And you'll need to use a mirror, just to figure out how."

The Blade slowly lowered his hand. "I really thought you were smarter than that." Most likely, he was actually as annoyed as he sounded. He turned, throwing his cape dramatically around himself as he abruptly disappeared from view. 

Tyrian looked around, his mood ruined, his fun spoiled. He sighed, letting his arms and shoulders droop before he started moving again.

"She's dead," he said, calling Arthur. 

"You don't sound happy," Arthur stated, sounding confused. _And perhaps a little concerned--I'm usually laughing my head off after a kill._

"You can blame the Blade for that," he snorted in reply. 

Arthur took a minute before he answered. "Brought something up that you didn't want to talk about?"

Tyrian stopped in his tracks. "You know me too well," he said quietly. 

"Well, I've known you for years," Arthur reminded him. "I can generally tell the 'whens' and 'whats' of you being down like this."

"Then you know to stop talking now," Tyrian said. He didn't add any threat to his tone--with luck, Arthur would stop prying. 

And Tyrian was, for once, lucky, as Arthur said nothing more. 


	14. Chapter 14

Shade woke that morning, curled up next to Riot on their shared bed. She didn't jolt upright, for fear of waking Riot. She smiled at her partner, reaching over and stroking the faunus's black and red hair. Riot slumbered still, and just looked so peaceful. Shade looked over to the center of the room, where Doppel sat on a chair, asleep. Evidently, she had tried staying awake all night to see if the Blade returned. 

Anger filled Shade's mind at the thought of the Grimm. Her expression darkened, and she reached over and gently touched the scars on Riot's stomach. The memory of their last battle was hard enough, Shade being completely and utterly unable to stop the Blade from hurting the woman she loved. And the thought that the Blade had just entered the room and only Doppel had noticed, only after a minute...

The Blade scared Shade. He infuriated her. He made her want to--

Riot stirred, eyes blinking open slowly. Her hand found Shade's, and their fingers intertwined. 

"Morning," Shade said quietly. 

"The painkillers wore off," Riot commented. 

"Sometime last night, while I slept," Shade said, shrugging. She rapped her knuckles against the metal plate currently embedded in her chest, then winced at the noise she made. "It's not even big and clunky, like I was imagining. Though, understandably, Pietro was wondering how the hell I was still alive, and what had actually happened..."

Riot smiled comfortingly at her, and Shade felt her worries and anger slipping away. _Like this woman always does,_ she thought with amusement. Shade leaned over, lying half on top of Riot, and kissed the faunus on the lips. 

"Maybe you could get your own room?" Doppel asked. 

Shade abruptly got off the other, blushing furiously as she turned on Doppel. "How long have you been awake?"

"Ten minutes or so," Doppel said with a shrug. 

_Damn, I thought she was asleep._

"Maybe we should get up," Palis said, staring at the top of his own bunk bed. "I mean, clearly none of us are getting any more sleep." Shade sat up, stretching, then looked around for her shirt. "Palis, would you mind turning around?" 

Palis rolled his eyes, but obliged. "You know, we've been sharing a room together for almost three years now, and I'm gay."

"So am I, but that doesn't mean much," Shade pointed out, throwing her coat over her shoulders. She began fastening each of the buttons. "How was your watch, Doppel?"

"A total failure," Doppel sighed. They shook their head, then added, "I was only able to stay awake four hours, and I was, at that point, too tired to have noticed him if he _did_ come back in."

"With Ironwood's added security, I doubt the guy could have come in undetected," Palis said, not bothering to ask who 'he' was. 

"Ahem," Riot said, sitting up and stretching. "Something that guy does makes it to where, if he's trying to, no one can detect him. It's almost impossible. Doppel has been trained since she was six, and she can barely notice him. Riot and I never see him until he reveals himself, and you yourself miss him most of the time."

"I'm not an Atlesian robot with heat and Aura detection," Palis said, giving her a flat look. "If anything can detect the guy, it'll be Atlas's security."

"Except it didn't stop him the first time," Shade put in, pulling a hairbrush out of a drawer. Setting up a mirror, she began pulling the tangles out of her hair. "What do we have on the agenda today?"

"Early morning sparring," Doppel immediately said. 

"I was looking forward to going on our first Huntsmen missions," Palis said. 

"Maybe we could do a joint mission with team RWBY?" Riot suggested. "I was looking forward to catching up with Blake, and we could try closing the gap with Ruby herself. Maybe Doppel can get through to her?"

"All excellent ideas," Shade said, thinking things over. _As long as I don't get paired with Ruby...cause that would hardly end well at all._


	15. Chapter 15

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Weiss commented, upon hearing the plan. 

"Four teams of two could help clear this board a lot quicker than two teams of four," Clover commented, arms crossed. 

Ruby drew her lips to a line. 

"So what are the new pairings?" Blake asked. 

"I was hoping to go with you," Riot suggested. "You know, catch up on five years of history?"

"Sounds good to me," Blake said with a smile. 

Yang appeared to splutter a moment, then said, "Okay. I choose White-Wash over there." She thumbed a finger at Palis. 

Palis looked around the room, then shrugged. "Okay."

"I've heard of your skill," Weiss said to Doppel. "I admit, I am interested in seeing your skill."

"Alright! Red Ice!" Doppel cartwheeled around Weiss, laughing their head off. 

"And that leaves me with--" Shade stopped, realization dawning on her. _Oh, fuck._

"Did you plan this?" Ruby asked, eyes narrowed. 

"No," Shade said indignantly. "Things I do plan generally end better."

"Ruby already had a mission chosen, actually," Clover said, tapping the board. "Escorting another supply shipment to Amity." He checked the list again. "Ironwood's still looking into the missile, but he's still putting the majority of supplies into the Amity Arena. In case the missile fails." Turning to Shade, he added, "You'll be with me and Penny, actually, with Qrow, if he decides to tag along. Then again--" Clover looked from Shade to Ruby and back again. "You might need someone to broker peace between you two."

Yang's punch easily took out the Sabyr. Sabyrs looked deadly, but were really only on par with Beowulves, so the pack went down quickly. Brushing off her hands, Yang said, "You're skilled."

"Thanks," Palis said. He threw a punch, hitting the Sabyr in the mouth without turning around to look at it. He fired off a shot, blowing its head off. "Not the best Huntsmen in the world, but still."

Yang looked away. "Hey. Have you heard Riot mention Blake before?"

Palis raised an eyebrow at the remark. "Once or twice."

Yang was silent. 

"Say, you're Blake's girlfriend, right?"

Yang nodded. 

"Ah. Don't worry--Riot and Shade are currently dating. Riot and Blake are just friends." He punched her shoulder, then frowned. "A prosthetic?"

"Did you not notice?" Yang asked. 

"I thought it was just armor," Palis said, flexing his fingers. "I guess the joke's on me."

"I'd have thought that you would have noticed, considering," Yang nodded to his two prosthetic arms. 

"Low blow, blondie," Palis said, folding his arms over his chest. "If you don't mind me asking, how'd you lose yours?"

Yang glared at him. "White Fang leader. Adam Taurus."

"That bastard?" Yang nodded. "Da-amn. Riot's mentioned him more than a few times. She wrote an entire chapter about him."

"She writes?"

"Heavy, anti-violence, anti-prejudice stuff."

"So she hates Adam about as much as I do," Yang said to Palis's laugh. Cracking a smile, she said, "Fair's fair. How'd you lose both your arms?"

"Deathstalker sting. Had to amputate both of 'em."

"It stung both your arms?" Yang asked, surprised. 

Palis smiled sourly, holding up both his arms, crossing them to form an X. "I don't block like this anymore."

"Yikes."

"You never fully forget something like that," Palis said, still smiling as he turned away. "The pain eases up a little, over time."

"Yeah." Yang sensed something more to his words, so she added, "And?"

Palis looked at her, no longer smiling. "Some people, you just hate more and more as time passes. Is Adam still alive?"

"No. Blake and I...killed him." Somehow, she was hesitant to say the words. 

"Good for you." He turned, walking back to the Airbus that would take them back to Atlas Academy. "I'm hunting my own demon. He didn't leave physical scars like that Deathstalker did." He didn't say anything more on the subject, and Yang chose not to press. 

"Good luck," she whispered. 

"Seven," Blake said, finishing off the Sabyr with a sweep of Gambol Shroud. 

Riot stabbed her knife into a Manticore's neck. The bomb blast blew its head off, and as the Grimm died, she said, "Those guys count as two, so I'm up to seven." She ducked aside as Blake fired behind her, killing a Sabyr before it pounced Riot. "Eight," Blake said with a smile. 

They met back to back, opening fire and killing Grimm before they got to them. 

"Twelve," Riot said triumphantly, panting. 

Blake stabbed a Sabyr that neared them. "Fourteen."

 _Dammit,_ Riot thought. "Hey, can you cover a minute?"

Blake frowned, but nodded. Riot plopped herself down, cross-legged, and breathed in and out deeply. She thought about Shade and Palis and Doppel, Blake and Yang, and even Ruby and Weiss. These were her friends. These were who she fought for. These were who she strived to protect. 

Riot never wanted anything to happen for them. She would do her best to _save them._

A burst of silver light spread throughout the area. The Sabyrs and Manticores burned away into a foul smelling smoke. 

Riot breathed out, then grinned at a stunned Blake. "I don't even know what that tallies up to."

"Well, I helped, so we'll call it even," Blake laughed. 

Riot was happy to call it a tie--especially considering the fact that she'd been losing. She tried to get up, but found her stamina depleted, and she just collapsed back down.

Blake rushed over, concern on her face. "Do you need help?"

Riot shook her head, then thought that over. She nodded. "You know I've never been one for long bouts, Blakey." Blake picked her up, supporting her with one hand wrapped under her arms. 

"Can you walk?" the cat faunus asked. 

Riot bit her lip. "Maybe."

Without another word, Blake swept Riot off her feet and hefted her bridal style and began carrying her back to the Airbus. 

"Does Ruby know how to use her silver eyes?" Riot asked curiously. 

"Not really. She's used them on purpose once, but hasn't actually tried beyond that."

"And how many times on accident?" Riot asked. 

"Two."

"I've gotten them on purpose twice," Riot replied. "Accident once."

"Maybe you could give Ruby some help?"

"Probably. But...I've tried practicing. It doesn't work if there aren't any Grimm nearby."

"Ah. Curiosity, what was it you used your eyes against?"

"First time, the time that was an accident, was on the Nameless Blade," Riot said quietly. She leapt from Blake's hands, landing unsteadily on her feet, then tapped her stomach scars. "I fell to the ground, gasping for breath, my Aura down, and he rushed forward and stabbed me three times. All the silver eyes did to him was give him mild pain." She began walking, and Blake started moving again as well. "Second time was against the Hydra. We mentioned it once or twice, right?"

"Yeah. You actually fought one of those things?" Hydras were well known for being incredibly hard to kill. 

"Once it was petrified, the rest was child's play," Riot said with a chuckle. "And the third time was against those Manticores just now."

"Ruby used hers for the first time at the Fall of Beacon," Blake said quietly. "On Cinder."

Riot stopped abruptly. "But Cinder's human. Damn, I _met_ her. She's full human, all the way down."

"We already heard from Maria that they don't work on humans or faunus," Blake said. 

"She's a silver eye?" Riot asked, surprised. 

Blake nodded. 

"You learn something new every day," Riot said, shaking her head. 


	16. Chapter 16

When working with team RWBY, Weiss often threw up some glyphs to support her allies. Never before had she made so many glyphs at one time. 

"Gimme a boost!" a Doppel cried. They pole-vaulted through the glyph, kicking a Sabyr and crushing it. Only the original Doppel, for some reason, used a sword--none of the rest of the 'Doppelgangers'--as Doppel themself called the clones. 

"Three on my tail!" another one cried. Weiss created a row of ice spikes, impaling the Grimm. A Sabyr managed to avoid the spikes, and leapt forward at Doppel. The clone ducked beneath it and kicked it in the jaw, knocking the Sabyr out of the air. They flipped into the air, landing on top of the Sabyr, and it dispersed into black smoke with a sickening crunch. 

"Oi! Here come's the boss fight!" another Doppel cried. This one held a crimson cutlass, with the handle being stylized like a rose. Weiss noted that her-- _their--_ hair pin was gone, and that none of the clones had that hair pin--which was presumably the sword. 

Weiss turned her attention to the Grimm. This one wasn't a Manticore or Sabyr. It was a Chimaera. The massive Grimm had three heads, a massive pair of wings, and four large paws. Doppel jumped into the air, bouncing off one of Weiss's glyphs, and landing on the Chimaera's back. They slashed its necks several times, opening fire with the gun in their sword's hilt--a submachine gun of sorts. Weiss shot out multiple projectiles, which hit the Chimaera's faces. The now confused Grimm looked over to her before roaring and shaking itself in an attempt to get Doppel off its back. However, Doppel remained standing on it, plunging their sword deep into the Grimm's neck. Several of the Doppelgangers jumped over, landing fierce blows on the Grimm's sides as the first of the heads came off. Weiss sent off a few more projectiles, taking off a second head. Three Doppelgangers grappled the third head while the original Doppel jumped directly on top of the Grimm's forehead and fired into its eyes. 

The Grimm dispersed into black smoke, and Doppel cried, "Whoo hoo! High fives all round!" They came over and gave Weiss a high five, then turned and began high fiving all the clones. Several of the clones came over and high fived her as well. 

"Well," Weiss panted. "That was intense."

"Chimaera's are no joke, but they aren't the most dangerous Grimm out there," the original Doppel said with a nonchalant shrug. They closed their eyes for a second, and each of the clones, one at a time, disappeared into blue smoke. 

Then, Doppel sat down on the snow. "Whew," they panted. "My Aura's gonna spend the rest of the day recharging."

"How exactly does your Semblance work?" Weiss asked curiously. 

"The Doppelgangers? They're pieces of my Aura. Each one is me. It's not a bunch of duplicates or clones. They're all me. My Aura, my memories, my soul." They paused. "Though none of them have my weapon or tail."

"Do you know--" Weiss stopped. "Tail?"

Doppel looked surprised. "Oh. I'm a faunus. Sorry, I just normally keep the tail under my shirt."

Weiss shook her head. "Sorry. Didn't know."

"Don't apologize," Doppel said, jumping up and punching her shoulder. "It's not like I'm wearing a shirt that says, 'I'm a non-binary faunus, bitches'."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. 

"I mean, I have that shirt, just not with me at the moment," Doppel continued. For once, instead of doing a series of acrobatic maneuvers, they walked normally. Weiss guessed it was because they were tired. "That shirt is generally for warmer weather, though that doesn't seem to stop Riot. I mean, seriously, wearing a crop top in Atlas? Who does that?"

Weiss chuckled. "You talk a lot."

Doppel strode up the gangway into the Airbus. "My Semblance turns pieces of my Aura into more me-s," they said. "So yeah. I talk a lot."

Weiss thought that statement through. "You call yourself 'they', right? Does that have anything to do with your Semblance?"

Doppel paused, in the middle of buckling themself in. Weiss sat beside them, buckled herself up, and gave the all-clear to the pilot. "I guess so," Doppel said, answering her question. "My Semblance...has thrown me for a loop once or twice."

"Do you have split personalities?" Weiss asked. 

Doppel stared at her a moment, then burst out laughing. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just...there's that feeling when you're experiencing something. When you remember an event, there's a _feel_ to it that tells you that it's nothing but a memory. But when I turn off my Semblance, it's like I'm experiencing it again--not just a memory. An _experience._ "

"Must be freaky," Weiss noted. 

Doppel frowned, cocking their head at Weiss. "I guess. I've never thought about it like that."

Weiss put a hand on their shoulder. "Well, if you ever feel the need to talk about it..."

"When it comes to nasty, backlash Semblances, mine barely makes it to 'backlash'," Doppel stated. "I've got nothing on Shade. What that poor girl has been through...what she's accidentally _done..._ "

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, curiosity peaked. 

Doppel winced--something that Weiss hadn't seen on their face. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that. She really didn't do it, and...and..."

"Now I'm concerned," Weiss said. 

"Oh, I'm just--ugh." Doppel leaned back in their chair, making themselves smaller. "I have to explain it now, don't I?" Without waiting for a response, they continued. "Well, when she was little...there was a terrorist. Drive-by shooting. He wanted to make people afraid. Shade got hit, and her mother...covered her. To prevent her death."

"Oh."

"Shade's Semblance drained her mother's Aura," Doppel said. "Salem mentioned this to me once. She gave her life for her daughter. Salem was travelling with the Blade a the time, so when she saw the young girl, crying beneath her mother's corpse..."

"Shade made it sound like she hated her mother," Weiss said slowly. 

"She was five," Doppel said. "She never really 'knew' her mother. That's what she meant by that. She's always called Salem 'mother'. I think Salem kinda liked it."

"What's your opinion on Salem?" Weiss asked. 

"Hmm. She's a liar, first and foremost. She most certainly is _not_ the chosen of the Goddess." Doppel thought a minute more. "But she's very emotional, no matter how much she pretends otherwise. _All_ the emotions. Hate and love." They shuddered. "In some ways, I think she did care for Shade."

Weiss thought it over. "Yeah. She sounds like she did."


	17. Chapter 17

The silence in the transport was definitely one of the most awkward Shade had been involved in. 

"Know any jokes?" Shade asked. 

Ruby glared at her. Penny, sensing the tension in the car, awkwardly sat there in silence. Qrow and Clover sat in the back end, chatting over a game of cards. 

"Okay, look," Shade said, rubbing her face. "We are both on the same side, right?"

Ruby hesitated, then slowly nodded. 

"We both want to stop Salem. So you need to _trust_ me. I get that I'm not exactly the easiest person to trust..."

"You can say that again."

"But can you try? I don't want to sit here and be glared at for over thirty minutes."

Ruby sighed. 

"Let's start again. Hello, my name is Shade Broker."

"Nice to meet you. Ruby Rose." Ruby extended her hand. 

Shade stared at it for an awkward minute before Ruby slowly lowered it. "Let's pretend that I shook it," Shade said. 

"Agreed," Ruby said with a chuckle. 

"I...don't follow," Penny said slowly. "Is there something that I am missing?"

"We no longer hate each other," Shade said, giving the android a thumbs up. 

Ruby laughed, also giving a thumbs up. 

"That is good?" Penny said, confused. She hiccuped, covering her mouth quickly. 

Both the other two laughed. "Hey...Shade?"

"Yeees?" Shade asked slowly. 

"Would your Semblance drain Penny's Aura?" Ruby asked. "I mean, it just occurred to me, she _is_ a robot..."

"Hmm...I don't know." Shade sat back in her chair. "It might work like that? It's not exactly as if I experimented with this. Although..." She grimaced. "I do know that it works on Salem."

Ruby frowned at that. "Okay. Interesting."

"Well, we can test!" Penny said excitedly. 

"Perhaps later, when we get back," Shade replied. "I don't want to leave you defenseless for some Grimm to eat."

"I am not that delicate, but I see your point," Penny replied, nodding. 

Then the car shook, and screeched to a stop, bumping and crashing through a snowbank. 

"What the hell?" Clover cried. 

"Why'd we stop?" Ruby called up to the driver. 

No response. With hesitance, Ruby got up and stepped up to the driver. A massive spike made of translucent golden light was sticking out of his chest. Cautiously, Ruby plucked the spike out of his chest, then held it up for the others to see. 

"Get down!" Shade cried. Ruby did so, just in time, as another spike zoomed over her head, through the windows of the car. Ruby jumped into the back end, where no windows gave clear shots at her. "Who's firing at us?" she asked. 

Shade took the spike, careful not to touch Ruby's hand. "Fuuuuuck," she said slowly, examining the spike. "That's the Blade."

"He's attacking us?" Qrow asked. Another golden spike punched through the car's metal siding, sticking just into the car but not flying farther. 

"Yup," Shade said. "I'm guessing Salem isn't too happy about my betrayal."

"How tough is he?" Clover said, drawing his weapon. 

"Um...skilled enough to solo my entire team?" Shade said pointedly. "And we're not exactly push overs, mind you."

Several more spikes hit the car. "What's the plan?" Penny said, eyes focusing on the side of the car. She plucked one of the spikes out, looking through the hole. 

"We have to fight him," Shade said. "He struck me as the kind of guy who's fully content to wait for us to starve to death."

"Those spikes don't appear to fast," Qrow noted. "I can distract him a minute while you guys get out and start firing at him."

"I can even just hide behind the car until I can get a good shot in," Ruby said. 

"Do that," Shade said. "With luck, he doesn't know how many are here."

_Clang._

Penny held another spike. A second one, that had been fired through the small hole she'd been staring through. "I found him!" she said. "But he has very good aim." She stepped aside as third spike went through the hole, hitting the other side of the transport car. Qrow kicked open the back door, leaping out of the car. Immediately, he was forced into a dodge roll, ducking beneath a volley of spikes. As he came up, he opened fire in the direction of the attacker. A snow bank exploded beneath the gun shot. But Qrow couldn't find the Blade. He frowned. 

He barely managed to block the sword aimed for his head. He parried, swinging back. The attacker lunged away, sliding through the snow. A tall and lithe figure, clothed in intimidating black armor from head to toe, with a single red eye-hole in his helmet. A cape fluttered around him, and he carried a slightly curved sword, quite a bit longer than any sword Qrow had seen. His fingers were clawed, and he wore knee-high boots. 

"I take it you're the B--" Qrow was cut off by a sudden lunge on the Blade's part. They locked swords, glaring at each other over the steel blades. The Blade suddenly jumped backwards as a green laser hit the ground where he'd been standing. Penny flew overhead, a circle of swords floating behind her as Clover and Shade stepped out of the truck, weapons drawn. 

The Blade stood straight, blade held casually at his side. "Your mother is disappointed, Shade," he chided. The same way one would scold a small child for taking extra cookies. 

Shade's lips drew to a fine line. "Mother is evil."

"Never seemed to bother you before," the Blade pointed out, head turned sideways. "When did you get so sentimental?" he added, almost as an afterthought. 

"When I saw what normal people were like," Shade stated. 

"And who are you to say what 'normal' is?" the Blade asked. "Your mother wants you _dead,_ Shade. She sent me to kill you."

Shade looked horrified. 

"You may yet still plead your case," the Blade continued. "You may yet escape most of her wrath, child. It is not too--" He thrust one hand into the air, a golden field of light appearing as a bullet bounced and fell to the snow at his feet. 

"I am not going back," Shade said, as Ruby straightened on top of the car. "You can tell Mother...tell her she needs to stop this."

"Like she'd listen to either of us," the Blade said with a snort. He pointed his sword at Shade. "The clock never stops ticking, child." There was scorn and derision in his voice. Shade pointed her own sword back at the Blade. Qrow did as well. Penny pointed all of hers at him. 

The Blade seemed to hesitate, then pointed and fired at the car. The front wheel was ripped right off the car, falling to the ground as the Blade jumped backwards, his form disappearing among the snow banks. 

"Dammit," Clover said, rushing over to the destroyed wheel. "This means we're walking," he said slowly. "Unless you guys want to wait out here for an Airbus."

An ear-splitting screech filled the air. Grimm circled overhead, and Sabyrs closed in on all sides. 

"No ship is going to be able to land now," Qrow said, firing at the advancing Grimm. "We need to move!"

"Gods," Shade breathed, staring around. "That was unexpected." After a pause, she said, "Mother really wants me dead."

"Now's not the time to think about that," Ruby said, jumping onto the ground beside Shade. She almost put a hand on Shade's shoulder, to comfort the other girl, but stopped herself. "We need to _move."_


	18. Past: Salem

When Weiss, Blake, Yang, Doppel, Palis, and Riot entered the hospital room, Clover was bandaging Qrow's arm, much to the other Huntsman's protests. Ruby sported multiple bruises, and Shade was doctoring a series of nasty cuts on her arm. Penny was rooting through a drawer, standing right beside an anxious looking Pietro. 

"What happened?" Yang asked. 

Ruby looked up from the bed she lay on. "That Blade guy sucks."

"He attacked us," Qrow said, glaring up at the extra-patient Clover. "Killed the driver and knocked a wheel off the car. We were forced to walk back to a safe point. Through a horde of Grimm." He inhaled deeply as Clover tightened the bandage. "Clover! I'm fine!"

"You jumped in front of a Manticore," Clover replied. "You are _not_ fine. Your Aura went completely down, Qrow."

"Penny? You okay?" Blake asked the android. 

"Oh, yes, I am fine," Penny replied distractedly. "Aha!" She triumphantly pulled a hand out of the drawer. It was then that Blake noted she was missing a hand. 

"I took some minor damage," Penny explained sheepishly, attaching the spare hand. "One of my hands got mangled, so I had to replace it."

"If only humans worked like that," Ruby muttered with a fond smile. She looked over to Yang, who was quietly rubbing her prosthetic. 

"Um...we do," Palis said, wiggling his mechanical fingers. "See? Good as new, the both of us!"

"What did the Blade want?" Doppel asked. It was one of the rare occasions where they weren't doing a series of acrobatic maneuvers. They stood, arms folded over their chest, one leg lifted up to their other knee. 

"To kill me," Shade said quietly. "Mother...wants me dead."

There was a long silence. Riot stepped over to Shade, then wrapped her arms around the other girl's shoulders. 

Blake looked at Yang, who said, "So, we've heard a lot about how you two first met, but we don't know how the story ends."

Shade looked confused for a second, then nodded, grateful for the distraction. "Oh, it was...tense. And a little mushy."

Riot woke up on a stretcher. Her wounds appeared to have been bandaged, as her eyes slowly opened. She regarded her shackles. Then her eyes opened wide in alarm, seeing that someone had carefully piled a large amount of lightning Dust on top of her. 

"For the record," a dry, amused voice said, "it's set up so that if you blow up your binding, you'll detonate the Dust. Which will hurt." The man with two prosthetic arms was carrying the stretcher at her feet. Riot looked up to see Doppel carrying the front of the stretcher. Tyrian followed at a slower pace than everyone else. 

"I'm Palis, by the way."

"Don't care." Her eyes were next drawn to her surroundings. The sky was dark, and rocky outcroppings filled the area. Several bones littered the surrounding area, as well as a few black puddles of liquid. As Riot watched, she saw a Beowulf rise from one of them, shaking itself off. It looked to her, its growl heard even from that distance. 

"I wouldn't worry about them," Palis said. "That would only draw their attention. Besides, they generally stay away from the castle." 

Riot couldn't see past Doppel, and so refrained from looking ahead for the castle. Thoughts ran wild inside her head. "Where are we?"

"I don't think Shade would like it if I answered that," Palis said. "And considering she can kill me with her pinkie..."

"Her Semblance is actually pretty terrifying," Doppel put in. "Legitimately so."

"You really gave her something to think about, you know," Tyrian said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms over Palis's shoulders. 

"Not while I'm carrying a prisoner-bomb, Tyr," Palis told him. 

Reluctantly, Tyrian removed his hands from the other's shoulders. "Well, her Semblance didn't work on you."

"Can't she just turn it off?" Riot asked. She didn't know what Shade's Semblance was, only that it hurt a lot, as Bleue had seen. Riot briefly wondered if she'd ever see the Huntress again. 

_Damn, she was hot._

"No, it doesn't work like that," Tyrian said, sounding mournful even though he was still smiling broadly. "She can't turn it off. Even Her Grace can't stand physical contact with her."

"Which is a feat in and of itself," Palis said. "I've never seen Salem wince before."

"Salem?"

"Oi!" Shade called. The party stopped at her voice. She sounded like she was ahead of them. "Stop giving her information!"

"Sorry," Palis said as they started walking again. 

"Cinder gets two highly trained assassins, and I get these idiots," Riot heard her muttering. "By the Goddess..."

"Who's Cinder?" Riot asked, smiling. 

"Fuck you, that's who."

They walked through a massive set of stone double doors. They passed down several hallways in silence before entering what could have been described as a dining room. Palis gently moved the Dust crystals after the two of them set Riot down. "Just don't run off," Palis whispered. "Or you will die."

The door through which they'd entered the room opened again. And every one of Riot's instincts told her to run from the _thing_ that entered the room. 

"You guys know what Salem looks like, right?" Riot suddenly asked. 

Everyone looked at each other. "Yeah," Ruby said. "We saw an illusion of her one time."

"Then I'm not gonna waste time describing her."

Salem glided through the room--if she walked, Riot couldn't see her feet. Salem barely spared a glance at Riot as she moved to the head of the table and sat down. "I expected you back yesterday."

"There were complications," Shade said quietly. She looked down at her feet, hands clasped behind her back. 

Salem put her fingertips together. She stared intently at Riot. Riot found herself sweating. "That's the Silver-Eye, then?"

"Yes, Mother."

"There's an added bonus to this one," Tyrian said casually. Whereas Palis and Doppel had adopted the same pose as Shade, Tyrian still posed like normal. To Salem's raised eyebrow, he said, "You're Grace, Shade's Semblance did nothing to this young Flame. Unlike the last Silver-Eye, she is immune to it."

A flicker of surprise crossed Salem's face--but only for an instant. "Curious," she said. She rose, and quickly crossed the room to stand over Riot. "Stand, child."

Looking around the room, Riot stood. She looked Salem right in the eyes. The pale skinned woman was staring at her curiously. Salem took one of Riot's hands, lifted up, and began looking her arm up and down. "Hmm. What plans have you made, Shade?"

"One or two, Mother."

A slight smile split Salem's face. There was something oddly motherly about that smile. "Ah, yes. Well, now I have an idea."


	19. Past: The Test

Salem lead the way to a circular room with a domed roof. She nodded into the room, which looked too much like a prison cell for Riot's taste, but the faunus slowly walked in anyway. Right as she stepped through the doorway, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Doppel reached over and took off the chain cuffs around her wrists, then handed Riot her knife. "You're gonna need this," they said. Riot frowned at the knife, then turned to Doppel with a confused expression on her face. 

Doppel gave her a look of pity as she stepped back. 

"Thirty minutes sound good?" Salem asked, turning to Shade.

Shade nodded. "That's what Palis did. Though Doppel did something like fifty."

"Fifty-three," Doppel corrected. 

"What's going on?" an increasingly alarmed Riot asked. 

"Then again, she has a wing injury," Shade said, a look of concern on her face. 

"I couldn't fly when I did this," Palis pointed out. 

"Fair enough." Shade grabbed the door, then flashed Riot a predatory grin. "See in you in thirty."

The door slammed shut. After a minute, Riot reached over and tried it. It had been locked. _Damn._

She walked to the center of the room, examining it. There was nothing of note in the room. There was a small hole in the ceiling, at the very top of the dome, through which Riot saw a red sky. _Volcanic ash of sorts?_ she pondered. 

She didn't have long to think about it. Moments later, the first Grimm entered the room. A standard Beowulf. Riot fired, killing it in one hit. But it was replaced by a second Beowulf. And she saw more behind it...

 _"Thirty minutes sound good?"_

The question echoed in Riot's mind several times before the answer clicked. 

"Good gods," she whispered. She'd been locked into a room full of Grimm. _For thirty minutes._ Her Aura was still low, and as she began firing at the Beowulves, she realized she was still sore all over. Including, she noted, a particularly nasty feeling bruise on her cheek. 

But the guy...Palis? He'd survived thirty minutes. And that annoying girl...Doppel had done fifty-three. Determined, Riot fired as fast as she could at the approaching Grimm. 

"That was one of the most long, drawn-out, desperate battles I've ever fought," Riot said slowly. "Thirty minutes of never ending Beowulves. I felt for sure I was going to die."

"They probably don't want to hear about you fighting Beowulves for thirty minutes," Shade pointed out. 

"Suffice it to say," Riot said, holding up a hand, "I lived."

"We know that!" Ruby said, sounding put off. "What happened?"

"Aside from my survival? My Aura went down, I broke a leg, and gained a scar on my thigh from where a Beowulf bit me. I thought I was about to die..."

Riot was covered in her own blood, lying on the ground, leaning on her elbows. She panted, looking around the room in alarm, before realizing that all the Beowulves were gone. Footsteps echoed through the chamber as Shade walked around her, standing in front of her with arms folded across her chest, and the biggest smile on her face. "Thirty minutes are up," she said. "Congratulations."

Riot was too tired to care, and just lay down on the ground. "If you're going to kill me, just go ahead and get it over with."

"Oh, this isn't murder. This is recruitment."

Riot perked up, looking up at Shade. Shade leaned down, and, somewhat hesitantly, touched Riot's cheek. She held the contact for a minute before dropping her hand, saying, "By the Goddess. It really doesn't work on you." She slid her arms beneath Riot's back and legs, lifting the girl up. "If you're trying to recruit me," Riot told her, "you're doing a lousy job."

"You haven't seen all the benefits."

Shade carried her to a large bedroom, with a king-sized bed in the center. She lay Riot down on the bed, then searched in the nightstand by the side for a minute. She took out a silvery-white pill and held it out to Riot. "This'll heal the wounds up quickly."

"You trying to drug me?"

Shade popped the pill into her own mouth before pulling out another one. Swallowing, she said, "Not a drug. Magic pill that heals injuries."

"Magic?"

"It's real."

Hesitantly, Riot popped the pill into her mouth. If they were trying to kill her, they could have done it in a far less roundabout way. She swallowed, flinching at the unexpectedly bitter taste. 

"You get used to the taste if you take them enough times," Shade said with an indifferent shrug. 

"About this recruitment?"

"To the point," Shade said, tapping Riot on the nose. "I like it. Mother is the queen of the Grimm. She is older than every city on the planet, and has been attacking humanity for all that time. She can't be stopped. If you join her, you won't die with the rest."

Riot blinked. "What?"

"A lot to take in, I know," Shade said, sitting on the bed besides Riot. She put a hand on the faunus's shoulder, rubbing and digging her fingers into the flesh. She didn't appear to notice Riot's wince. "Mother is ancient. She's outlived every human attempt at killing her. Riot, you can't stop her. No one can. But if you join her...you'll live."

"It's not really an option, is it?" Riot asked. 

Shade leaned over her, putting one hand on either side of Riot's face. Grinning, she kissed Riot long and hard on the mouth. One of her hands traveled to Riot's bare stomach, feeling the muscle. 

More than a little disturbed, Riot pushed Shade off her, scooting back to the opposite edge of the bed, ignoring the pain that shot up her leg. "Okay. What the hell?"

Shade paused, then chuckled. "'Twas but a kiss, Miss Reeves."

"How do you know my last name?"

"I read your book," Shade said, still smiling. She leaned in closer, grinning at Riot. "You are the one person I can kiss without killing. I saw you trying to flirt with that Huntress. I think there are a number of things we can work out..."

Riot bit her lip. "You're a creep." _But then again, I want to stop Salem. Going undercover against her seems like the best way, and this girl is close to Salem. Get close to her..._

"You kissed me back," Shade said, sidling up next to Riot. She grabbed Riot's hand in her own. "C'mon then. Let's start the apocalypse...together."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"The way I see it, you have three. You can tell no to Mother, and have her kill you. You can say yes to Mother and no to me. Or you can say yes to us both." Resting her head on Riot's shoulder, she added, "Guess which one I'm hoping for."

 _This could end poorly._ "Okay. I'm gonna regret this, but I'm gonna choose number three, but only cause you're cute."

"Wait," Yang held up a hand. "You're saying that neither of you even liked the other? You were both just using the other to get your own way?"

Shade and Riot shared a look. "Believe it or not," the former said. 

"That's how we became a couple," the latter finished. 

"Though the actual 'love' between them came much later," Doppel said. "That's when they met, them falling in love took quite a bit longer than that."

Riot nodded. "Yes. With me being me, and Shade being..."

"Me?"

"...a creepy pervert, it took some work on both our parts to make it work."

"I'd feel insulted, but it's completely true," Shade said with a shrug at the remark. She kissed Riot on the cheek. "I do love you."

"I love me, too. I just also really love you."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to RWBY: Combat Ready players. I have experimented with making RWBY Combat Ready decks for team SPDR, just writing down the card effects on index cards. Below is a link to the deck designs. Feel free to use them, and send me a comment if you have any questions!
> 
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gOCmzqa-fJmdn5_lZ8WopApBXfOnIEU_

"Surely Jacques knows that this isn't going to work?" Ironwood's voice came. Shade looked up from the mission board to the General and Clover entering the room at a slow pace. 

"Knows what's not going to work?" a confused Palis asked. 

"He's trying to boot me off the council," Ironwood explained. He had a flabbergasted look on his face. "Surely he knows he's not going to get the push he needs."

"My father is horrible, but he's not _that_ stupid," Weiss said, a hand on her hip. 

"He's holding a ball at the Schnee Manor," Ironwood continued. "Says he'll be 'moderating'."

"Fancy talk for leading the conversation by the nose," Shade said. "I've had conversations with manipulative people like him before. He simply wants to lord his power over everyone else."

"Which manipulator are you talking about?" Riot asked. "There were several in Salem's court."

"Take your pick," Shade said with a wry smile. 

Ironwood nodded. "Yes. I should be fine...but I'd like if, Ruby, if you and your team could come, too. Weiss, you'll be able to get around to places the rest of us won't be able to, and the rest of you can act as support if necessary."

"Salem does consistently use humans to do her bidding," Shade said. "I find it likely that, whether or not he knows it, Jacques Schnee is doing her work."

Ironwood nodded. "You're saying we need to go to a party," Ruby said flatly. 

"It's not going to be all fun and games," Ironwood laughed. A hearty laugh. "In fact, it's mostly going to be work."

"We'll be there," Ruby confirmed. 

"And my team as well," Shade said. "Regardless of how much work we manage to get done, all four of us could use a break."

"You're welcome along," Ironwood said with a nod. "Just try not to cause anything in the way of trouble unless strictly necessary."

"We're all looking at you, Doppel," Riot said, turning to them. 

Doppel immediately began acting offended. "Excuse me, Miss _Riot._ "

A chorus of laughs echoed around the group. 

It certainly wasn't the greatest party he had seen. Yet, as he watched team SPDR below, he realized that they didn't need the best party. Humans would take any excuse for celebration and drink to it with wild abandon. 

The Blade turned, inclining his head just a little to look over at Tyrian. Tyrian frowned as he observed the party below. 

"Last chance," the Blade intoned. No emotion bled through his voice. 

"Go fuck yourself," Tyrian growled, glaring down at the Grimm. The Blade was no taller than the scorpion-faunus, but was unintimidated nonetheless. "I'm here for Palis. Not for you."

"My plan will get us both what we want." Again, no emotion bled through his words. It was a fact...or so he thought. 

_Who's to say he knows what I want?_ "Need I repeat myself?" Tyrian growled. "Or are you def as well as foolish?"

He couldn't say for sure, but Tyrian felt as if the Blade's single eye narrowed at the remark. The Grimm stepped around him, over the wide-eyed, bound serving girl. Tyrian wondered briefly why the Blade hadn't killed her, but didn't feel the need to ask. "I am going to do what I was told to do," the Blade said, the slightest hint of fury in his tone. "You can do your part...or you can _not._ The choice is yours."

Tyrian allowed himself a humorless smile. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said with a laugh, "I don't think I've ever made you angry before." 

The Blade disappeared from sight. Tyrian looked down at the serving girl curiously. "What's so special about you?" he asked. Then, with a shrug, he walked off, leaving her to suffer for a bit, to soothe his anger. 

If he was going to get what he _actually_ wanted, he'd need to be calm and level headed. Which wasn't something he was very good at. 


	21. Chapter 21

Palis found the first body in a secluded hallway. 

He rushed forward, Doppel right behind him as he checked, first and foremost, for a pulse. None. The poor girl was in a pool of her own blood. It looked like she died without a struggle or sound. 

"The Blade?" Doppel asked. 

"Looks like his handiwork," Palis agreed. He sent a warning text to Shade, knowing she'd contact everyone else. "But he's not exactly some rando-serial killer. This isn't what he normally does."

"Sometimes situations call for less finesse and more smash," Doppel said with a shrug. They put a hand on their hip, looking around. "Moreover, where'd he go?"

"Split up and look for him?"

"Actually, the Doppelgangers take a lot of my Aura. If I'm gonna go up against someone who's most likely gonna hit me a lot, I'd prefer to have Aura to--" They stopped. "Oh! You meant the two of _us_ split up. Ha, no, fat chance. You're stuck with me."

"We'll go left, looking for him."

"Why?"

"Because last time we were looking for this guy, I was wrong about where he went," Palis pointed out. "My instincts tell me he went right. So we go left."

"But what if he expected you to follow that train of logic and went left because he knew you'd expect him to go that way, and would therefore go the other way?" Doppel asked. 

"Then he's already proven to be smarter than us, and therefore, above our pay grade," Palis replied casually, walking forward. He stepped over a second body, shuddering. "Okay. That's a lot of corpses." He leaned down, inspecting one. "And this one wasn't killed with a sword."

"Good thing you have observation skills," Doppel said, giving a thumbs up. "So who did done it?"

"First, please do me the honor of never saying that again," Palis said, holding up a finger. "Second, this wound looks like it was from something smaller--like a knife, or like that thing...Tyrian uses." 

They were silent for a long time. Palis continued down the hallway, then stepped out into a garden area. He strode confidently over to a fountain in the center of the area. 

"Hey, Palis, are you sure you wanna do this?" Doppel said, rushing up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, after what he did to you last time..."

"Oh, sure, bring _that_ up," Palis snapped. He didn't sound too angry, though, so Doppel continued. 

"What I meant was, are you sure you want to go up against him? I mean, even if you do beat Tyrian, it may not end how you want it too." Doppel turned Palis to look into his eyes, showing him the concern they felt. 

"I'm fine," Palis said. "I mean, I'm not the happiest guy, but I'm okay. Tyrian's not going to hurt me like that again." He grinned at them. "Besides, this time I have backup." 

Doppel managed a weak smile in return. 

"I know you're here, Tyrian," Palis called out, turning away from his partner. "Come on out!"

"You always were perceptive," Tyrian's voice replied. He stepped out from behind a hedge wall, leaning against the shrub with arms folded over his chest. He wasn't wearing his usual grin--which made Palis tenser. 

"I saw your work in the hallways," Palis told him, thumbing back towards the manor. "You and the Blade?"

"He is just about the last person I'd work with," Tyrian said, sounding legitimately offended. "No, I came here by myself. The Blade just timed his attack with mine."

Palis loaded his guns. Tyrian's eyes narrowed. "I'm not here to fight you," he said. 

"Then why _did_ you come, cause it looks like it was for a fight," Palis said, pointing one gun at Tyrian. 

"To prove you wrong," Tyrian replied. To Palis's raised eyebrow, he added, "For leaving."

Palis gave a cruel, ironic laugh. "Whatever you mean by that, I haven't the slightest interest in getting back together with you, Tyrian."

Tyrian glared at him. "You left me. You left Salem. You spurned her charity."

"Charity?" Palis cried. "Name one charitable thing Salem's done! One! Just one!"

"She took you in," Tyrian growled, jabbing a finger at Palis. "She raised you. She gave you arms to replace the ones you lost. No one else could have done this as well as she did!"

"And no one could have ruined it more than you did," Palis said firmly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. 

Tyrian looked furious. His stinger rattled in the air behind him, carapace flexing and shaking. 

"I used to love you," Palis admitted. "But you ended that in one fell swoop. With one move. Except this time..."

He grabbed Doppel's hand. "I'm not facing you alone."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Palis's RWBY: Combat Ready deck is complete. I will try to work on Riot's soon, and perhaps a Sub-boss deck for Tyrian, though that might be more complicated.

Palis lunged forward, throwing the first punch of the fight. Tyrian blocked with one hand, swinging towards Palis' face with his other hand. Palis stepped back, firing with his other hand. Tyrian ducked beneath a blast of fire Dust, then struck at Palis's stomach. Palis struck his hand, slamming his other hand into Tyrian's face. Tyrian slid backwards, half bent over before he lunged forward, kicking towards Palis. Palis blocked with one hand, firing several rounds of gravity Dust to knock Tyrian off balance. He swung his hand around at the other's head, but the faunus ducked down to the ground and swept his leg to knock Palis over. Palis leapt over Tyrian's leg, but Tyrian swung up and kicked Palis away. Palis somersaulted backwards, over Doppel, who lunged in, attacking with their cutlass. 

Tyrian was caught off guard, and backed away, blocking Doppel's attacks with his wrist blades. Then he twirled at them, swinging both hands towards Doppel, who blocked with their cutlass. Tyrian, mid-spin, kicked them, sending Doppel sliding backwards. Tyrian lunged, stabbing at Doppel repeatedly. Doppel flipped to the side, landing on one hand and spinning, throwing a kick at Tyrian. The blow caught Tyrian's shoulder, but he managed to right himself in time to dodge a deep red stinger. 

Cursing, Doppel backflipped backwards, throwing off their blue overcoat, a long stinger flexing behind them. Their arms were covered in tooth and claw marks, from shoulder to wrist. Doppel pointed their sword's handle towards Tyrian, pulling the trigger. The submachine gun in the hand guard opened fire, and Tyrian rolled out of the way. "I never really cared for you," he sneered, firing with one of his own guns. 

Doppel deflected the bullets, spinning their cutlass around. "Same here," they returned. As Tyrian glowered, Palis slammed into him, throwing him to the side. Palis kicked at Tyrian, who held his hands together in a block. Palis quickly swapped to a series of Dust-powered punches that forced Tyrian farther back. He swung a hand down at Tyrian, who blocked the hand and kicked Palis's stomach. Palis grunted, white Aura crackling around the blow. He swung his other hand at Tyrian's face, and the faunus jumped backwards, opening fire with both machine guns. Palis fired ice Dust into the cloud of bullets, letting the resulting explosion deflect most of the incoming shots. A few plinked against his Aura as he charged Tyrian once more. 

Tyrian slashed at Palis's face, spinning into a kick as the latter dodged back. As Palis grunted, Tyrian lashed out with his stinger, narrowly missing Palis before uppercutting him. Palis flung back, and Doppel rushed in once more. Their sword met Tyrian's wrist blade several times before they leapt up and kicked at his face. Doppel balanced on their tail, throwing a series of well placed kicks at Tyrian. Several were blocked, but several scored hits on his stomach and shoulders. He shoved against them, and Doppel rolled across the ground, coming to a stand beside Palis. 

"He's not nearly as tough as I remember," Palis said, his white Aura crackling around him. 

"Or we just got tougher," Doppel said, their violet Aura crackling. 

Tyrian's own violet Aura flared, glowing around him like a poison. "So I wasn't strong enough for you?" he hissed. "Is that it?"

"Tyrian...it wasn't a flaw you consciously made. You were just a bad person." Palis cracked his mechanical knuckles. "If you'd shown the slightest interest in becoming a better person..."

With a cry of berserk rage, Tyrian leapt forward. His blades rang out against Palis's arm, and he viciously repeated attacking. Doppel kicked him in the side, and he swung at them, his blade locking with their cutlass. Palis seized his moment, rushing from behind Tyrian to his side. Tyrian turned to face him, eyes wide, as Palis raised a fist. Firing off a round of gravity Dust, he threw a punch into Tyrian's face. Deep purple Aura flashed around his head as Doppel propelled him with a kick to the stomach.

Tyrian hurtled backwards, skipping along the ground, chips of stone flying into the air as he collided with the stone ground. He landed on his feet, one hand clawing himself to a stop, snarling up at the two of them as his Aura went down. 

Palis barred his teeth back at Tyrian. "You can try to hurt me again," he snapped, "but I won't let you. Not again. Not now, not ever." He punched out, a dozen empty ammo casings clattering to the ground. 

"I never wanted to hurt you," Tyrian said. "I wanted you to stay. Stay with Salem. Stay with...me. Where we could win together."

"It's not about winning!" Palis growled. "It's about _what_ you win, Tyr! You could win a million times over, but it wouldn't be worth shit if you didn't want the prize!"

Tyrian gritted his teeth. "So you didn't care about me?" he asked quietly. _Dangerously_ quiet. 

Palis sighed. "No. I did care about you. If you'd allowed it, you'd have come with us to stop Salem." He closed his eyes, breathed in and out slowly, and when he opened his eyes again, there was a fiery anger in them. "You made your choice, though. We both did." He raised his fists, then jumped forwards, firing off a few shots of fire Dust. Tyrian dodged them easily, leaping towards Palis an clawing at his arms. Steel met steel, and Palis activated his Semblance. A small spark of electricity ran through Tyrian's weapons, which immediately discharged their ammo cartridges. Tyrian shoved him back, flipping forward onto his hands and kicking Palis back as he somersaulted onto his feet. He slashed Palis, taking down the other's white Aura as he spun into a kick. Palis stumbled back, then caught Tyrian's stinger, the tip inches from his face. He twisted the carapace, wrapping it around his hand, and shot fire Dust through he tail, ripping most of the end off. Tyrian stumbled back, crying in pain as his remaining tail twitched. Palis stopped, dropping the stinger. 

Tyrian gave him a glare. "You...you...you!" He lunged forward, abandoning all else in one last attempt to kill Palis. Palis threw his fist into Tyrian's chest, firing as he punched him backwards. Tyrian flung back, hitting a statue that cracked. He started to rise, then noticed the gaping hole in his chest, with broken bits of his rib cage and charred flesh. He stared in shock a moment, then simply fell limp, eyes wide. 

It took Palis a full thirty seconds to register Tyrian's death. He fell to his knees, shock running through him. A blue coat fell over his shoulders, and he looked up at Doppel. Doppel gave him an encouraging smile. 

"I didn't mean to kill him," Palis whispered, turning back to the corpse. 

"I know," Doppel replied. They went down onto their knees, shivering in the cold, Atlas air. Doppel had mentioned that the colder weather agitated their scars. This thought suddenly struck Palis, and he took off Doppel's coat and handed it back to them. "You need this more than I do," he said. 

Doppel hesitated, then nodded in thanks, throwing it back on over their arms, but still refusing to button it. Palis looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Which was odd. That meant he was shaking. And part of him realized it wasn't from the cold. 

Doppel threw their arms around him in a hug. "What's done is done," they said. They reached over, rubbing Palis's tattoo over his eye. A tattoo of Doppel's scar over their eye. He reached over and touched the scar. They sucked in breath deeply. 

The two of them sat there, arms around each other, breathing in the air of an Atlesian night. For a moment, the conflict had ended. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riot's deck is finished! Hope you enjoyed the RWBY: Combat Ready decks.

Shade burst into the council room, dramatically throwing open the doors. "Salem's attacking the manor!" she cried. 

"What?" Ironwood said, jumping to his feet. 

"Who?" Jacques demanded. "What is going on? Who is attacking?"

Ironwood looked around, then looked Shade in the eye. With a shrug, she said, "Now's as good a time as any."

So Ironwood told them. About Salem. About the Relics. About the Grimm, and the secret war over the fate of the world that had been fought for centuries. Robyn Hill used her Semblance to confirm his words, and when he finished, she stepped back, looking stunned. 

"We recently learned the location of Salem's fortress," Ironwood said, with a nod to Shade. 

"Her home base is undefended," Shade confirmed. "Aside from the Grimm, that is. She hasn't considered the possibility that we could just launch a missile towards her."

"I'm sorry for keeping this hidden," Ironwood said, "but I didn't know where Salem's minions were. I didn't wish to reveal my plans to Salem. But now, with your assistance, we can launch a missile that could end most of our struggles."

Jacques Schnee stood up. "We have had many arguments, James. Many scuffles. But for the sake of stopping this...Salem...I'll put aside my past grudges for now. This plan has my full support."

"There are some bets you just don't take," the councilwoman said, rising as well, "and some that you always take. I'm backing this plan as well."

"You have my consent as well," said the third councilman. "Let's do this."

"The mansion's under attack, you said?" Robyn demanded. "From who?"

"One of Salem's high ranked minions," Riot said. "Calls himself the Nameless Blade."

"His name is Nameless Blade?" Robyn asked. "How does that make sense?"

"It really doesn't," Riot agreed. "We'll go with you on the way out in case he attacks."

"We gotta go now, though," Shade said. "We don't know where he is, and he hits hard and fast." She lead the way out the door, hand on her sword hilt. Penny and Winter both leapt to their feet and began following. What they were doing out in the hall instead of in the council room, Shade didn't know, but she said, "What's going on?"

"Secure the perimeter," Shade ordered, striding past Winter. "Watch every conventional entrance, and every other one, too. Watch for any signs of Grimm activity--he can turn invisible, though I'm not sure about the details. No droid's gonna take him down--and watch yourself around him. He's very skilled, and--"

"A _hem._ " Shade stopped and turned to Ironwood, who raised an eyebrow at her. Shade shrugged. Turning to Winter, Ironwood said, "There is an enemy who calls himself the Nameless Blade hiding in this mansion. He works for Salem, and might either retreat or go after someone important."

"He's already killed a number of servants, according to Palis," Shade added, starting walking again. "Palis and Doppel found Tyrian, and took him down, but their Aura's low, so they retreated back a bit."

Ruby and Weiss stood just ahead of them, and stopped when Shade walked past them. "Wha-what's going on?" Ruby asked. 

"The Blade's attacking," Shade said. "We're going to fire the missile now. It'll end Salem."

"But what about Amity?" Ruby asked, stepping up beside Shade. 

"Mind the Semblance," Shade cautioned. "And Amity was a longer and more involved method of stopping Salem. A missile will kill her, and then we can reunite humanity without worrying about organized Grimm invasion."

Ruby stepped in front of Shade, forcing her to stop walking. "She raised you. If we can stop her without killing her..."

"Salem has made her choices. I tried once to get her to stop, and she threw me from the top of her castle." Shade breathed in and out, then glared at Ruby. "Why exactly are you so intent on not killing her?"

"Huh?"

"What do you know that you didn't say?" Shade hissed. Ruby stepped back, then, looking at Ironwood, the councilmen, and back to Shade, she said, "Salem...can't die. She's immortal."

There was a long silence. "The missile won't work," Ruby continued, "but there are other ways that we can--"

Shade took a step back. Then she threw her head back and laughed. Hollowly, bitterly, the sound echoing off the walls and replaying over and over again in everyone's ears. "You're telling me that I'm going to have to deal with her anger for the rest of my life?" she croaked. "That it's not going to be simple and easy? I can't just...get it over with?" Her gaze turned to Ruby, and fury lit up in her eyes. "Why didn't you say this sooner?" she growled. 

"I...didn't know if I could trust..."

Shade stepped forward, hand grasped around Ruby's throat, lifting her clear off the ground and pinning her to the wall. Weiss immediately drew her sword as Shade snarled, "It's people like you that she uses to win! That she manipulates and toys with until everything she hates is gone!"

"I--" Ruby's voice choked out, eyes going wide, as thin black lines crept around her throat. Shade immediately dropped her, taking a step back as Ruby gasped and choked. A network of black lines, scars that looked to be decades old, had appeared around her throat, in the same pattern as Shade's hand. 

"Ruby!" Weiss cried, falling down beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I--" Ruby immediately burst into a fit of coughing and choking. 

"Ruby?" Weiss shook her, "Answer me!"

Winter put a hand on Weiss's shoulder, stopping her. "Ruby, can you speak?" she said firmly. 

Ruby shook her head, one hand rubbing her throat. Shade took stepped back even further, then turned and ran. As she ran, her form disappeared, and a small Nevermore flew through the building and out a window. 

The Nevermore flew onto a balcony on the third floor before turning back into Shade. She rushed to the edge, gasping and sobbing, looking down at her hands. It had been many years since she'd had an incident with her Semblance. Many years. 

_Creak._ Apparently, millions of lien didn't negate the Schnee Manor's creaky floorboards. 

"Didn't take you too long to find me, eh?" Shade asked, leaning against the railing. "I...I lost my temper. I'm sorry. I know I promised I'd try and keep myself under control, that I'd avoid using my Semblance, but...I'm sorry. I can't excuse what I just did. I failed you." And, by consequence, she'd probably lost Riot. Why would Riot want to continue dating her after that? She'd attacked Ruby! Ruby now bore several scars from a few seconds contact. When she got her voice back--hell, she might not get her voice back! Of course Riot would leave her. _It's only fitting, I guess..._ She leaned over the railing, sobbing quietly. "I'm sorry."

Riot was silent. Then the thought occurred to Shade. _Riot's never been one to stay silent._

The whoosh of air was the only indicator of movement--and how fast they were moving. Shade spun around, bringing her sword to block a blade that was bigger than she was. She was pushed hard against the railing, leaning back over it, over an a hundred foot drop that wouldn't have been worrisome if she hadn't known about the Blade's superb accuracy. Because it was him--the black armor, the flowing cape, long white hair tied in a pony tail, the clawed fingers, and the single red eye leaving a glowing trail as his head moved. 

Shoving hard on his sword with one hand on the hilt and one on the blade itself, he said in a voice tinged with sadistic glee, "Finally alone. Just the two of us."


	24. Chapter 24

"Neo!"

Neo's eyes opened, revealing a blurry, feminine form. Cinder? 

The Fall Maiden knelt down beside her, an oddly panicked expression crossing her face. I didn't know she cared, Neo thought. 

"Are you okay?" Cinder asked slowly. 

Neo gave a thumbs up, then flexed her fingers. Each of her hands now had a hole in the palm. The wounds looked closed? Cauterized. She gave Cinder a skeptical look. 

Cinder picked up a golden spike from the ground. "These were pinning you to a wall by the hands," she explained. "I...thought you might be...dead. I'm...glad you're not."

Neo raised an eyebrow. 

Without dignifying her with further clarification, Cinder stood up, saying, "Well, if you're okay, then we have work to do."

Neo stood up, dusting herself off. She held up both her hands, which had holes in the palms. 

"Who did this to you?" Cinder asked quietly. 

Neo thought back to the black-clad figure. Not knowing who he was, she shrugged at Cinder. Then, pulling out her scroll, she typed--rather stiffly--Aw, you care about me. 

Cinder blushed, then said, "No I don't." Very quickly. 

Neo smirked at her, one hand on her hip. Blushing, Cinder spun on her heel and trotted off. Neo skipped after her, in a pleasant mood despite her pain. 

  
The hundred-foot drop normally wouldn't have scared Shade. She could, in fact, turn into a Nevermore and fly away. The problem was that she was defenseless in that form, and she knew exactly how good the Blade's aim was. 

Shade pushed back against the Grimm, but he was quite a bit stronger than her.

"You're with your friends quite a bit," the Blade hissed. "You do like all sorts of company, don't you?"

"What can I say?" Shade grunted back, struggling to focus on her opponent and her words at once. "I...like...people." She angled her sword, letting the Blade's weapon slide back. 

"Are you trying to throw me off the balcony?" he asked. "Do you really think that's going to work?"

"Even if that could kill you, I doubt it would work," Shade replied calmly. "But I have other tricks." She pointed the tip of her sword towards his face. 

"Like what?"

"You're old enough to where you don't know too much about modern times," Shade told him. "So let me enlighten you to a modern expression: 'it's also a gun'." She squeezed the trigger, hitting him square in the face. He jumped back, evading her slashes as he moved out of range. She converted the sword into a combat rifle, switched it to automatic, and opened fire. 

The Blade moved, deflecting the first bullet out of the air. As he moved, however, over a dozen shimmering, golden afterimages, each almost completely translucent, split apart from him, moving individually and deflecting all the bullets as she ran out of ammo. The images disappeared, and then the Blade rushed forward, stabbing at Shade quickly with his sword. As he attacked, more of the golden afterimages split apart and stabbed her as well. She couldn't block all the attacks, most of them scoring glancing hits on her Aura before his real sword slammed into her stomach, forcing her to slide backwards. He stepped forward, slicing at her. She stepped back, out of the way, and a golden image split off of him, stepping forward and performing the same slash. She blocked with her sword, sliding backwards again as a second image split off and performed the same slash. This time, her sword was pushed to the side, almost out of her hands. As Shade hurriedly grabbed it before it fell, the Blade lunged forward, slamming his foot into her stomach. She grunted, flying backwards and skipping across the ground. She managed to land on her feet, firing off a shot as she slid backwards. 

The bullet hit its mark, scoring a glancing blow on the helmet. The Blade cried out, hand going to the metal there. He was still a Grimm--with no Aura to protect him, the force of his helmet shaking under the impact could deal him damage. And after he'd taken enough of a beating, he would die. 

He looked straight at her, the eye leaving a red trail through the air as his head moved. "Congratulations," he snarked, "you got one hit in, after taking over a dozen. You must feel so proud."

Shade rubbed her side, then laughed. 

"Do you find your failure amusing?" the Blade hissed. 

"Last time, I didn't get any hits in," Shade said, giving him a thumbs up. "Definite improvement!"

The Blade stared at her. Shade felt sure he was incredulous. "What does she see in you?" he hissed. "Why, after all you've done, after all you're failures, does she still want you back?"

Shade frowned. "What do you mean? I thought Salem wanted me dead..."

He cocked his head. "I apologize," he said, "for the inconsistency. I can't always keep track of which lies I've told." With definite amusement, he added, "Your guess which one is the lie."

Salem wanted her. Salem didn't want Shade dead. She wanted Shade back. 

This was brilliant! Her mother didn't hate her! She was wanted! 

Shade lowered her sword, unable to stop the shaking. "I can't go back. Not now that I've seen what good is."

"What is wrong with you?" the Blade cried. "Have you no gratitude?" A blast of red hit him in the side, throwing him off balance. He stumbled, sliding across the ground and turning to face Riot. Riot lowered her gun, glaring at him furiously. "I'm sure she's grateful for the good things Salem has done for her. But she sure as hell ain't grateful for the nasty things."

Shade nodded gratefully towards Riot. Riot nodded back. Shade stepped over to her, and both pointed their swords at the Nameless Blade. 

"And for the record," Shade said, "you're name's stupid."

The Blade stood there for a minute. Then he said, "I guess Salem wants her child back." The biting insult stung Shade. She didn't have time to think about it, however, as the Blade lunged. Another of the golden images lunged ahead of the Blade, causing Shade to hurriedly block. The image dispersed into light, and the Blade struck at her. Riot blocked, her knife flashing red as it deflected the attack. Shade slashed at the Blade with her opportunity, scoring him on the shoulder. The Blade spun on her, slashing at her as an image split off and attacked Riot. Shade blocked the swing as he continued spinning around. Now she was faced with a golden image of him, and struck at its head. But she was left open as the Blade spun and kicked her in the stomach. She landed on her back, and rolled to the side as a golden sword stabbed into the ground beside her. The Blade casually strolled along the ground, past Shade as several more images split off and attacked her, keeping her down. 

"What does she see in you?" he hissed. "Why does she want you back? You show no promise. You barely have any skill, despite years and years of training. You betrayed her. You attacked her. You have stopped several of her plans--she had to abort the attack on Vacuo because of you. You killed a Hydra. Do you know how slowly those things appear? How many years we'll have to wait for a replacement?" He raised his sword, blocking a swing from Riot, then punched her. His fist collided with her face, knocking her down and throwing her backwards. "You courted a Silver-Eye! You have done NOTHING worthy of her forgiveness!"

"I guess you really don't understand it," Riot said. 

The Blade faced her. "And pray tell, what exactly is it that I don't understand?"

"Salem loves her," Riot said. "No matter what. She loves her as a mother loves her child. I love her--for the woman she is, for the personality she has, for the fact that she returns the love that she gets. She. Is. Loved."

The Blade paused a moment, then chuckled. His shoulders bounced, and he shook his head, looking Riot dead on. "You're right. I really don't understand. And...I also don't care." He lunged, swinging at her. Riot knocked his blade aside, then spun the knife around, attacking a golden image that attacked from her other side. She blocked his real sword as he attacked her again, then fired off a shot. He leaned out of the way, then slashed towards her stomach. Towards her scars. 

A moment of pure panic crossed her eyes. Then a hand grabbed the sword, fingers wrapping around the sharp blade as white Aura worked frantically to do its job. Shade tugged on the sword, pulling the Blade off balance. Riot shook herself out of her flashback, then struck the Blade across the chest. He buckled backwards for a second before hurtling backwards, digging his feet into the ground, ripping up stone tiles. "You little..." He pointed one hand dramatically at her. It was then that he realized he wasn't holding his sword. 

Shade lifted the sword. A golden light was crackling along the blade, flickering and staticking. The golden ripple went up Shade's hands, and her bleeding fingers slowly healed. Then, the sword cracked, and a scream split the air. A twisted, inhuman scream, as a stream of black and gold smoke dispersed into the air above the now shattered sword blade. Shade looked over the hilt, then tossed it to the side. "That was Aura."

The Blade said nothing. 

"You...you're not a full Grimm. You're...human. The golden images were your Semblance. Your Aura was contained in the sword..." Shade grinned. "You're defenseless now."

"I have enough defense to finish you!" the Blade cried, lunging forward. Shade ducked beneath his fist, striking him across the chest. Riot stepped in, striking him across the face, knocking him down. Shade fired, hitting him in the back of the leg. The Blade went down on one knee, crying out in pain. As he looked up, he stared right down Riot's gun. 

"Bang," she snarled. She pulled the trigger. A flash of red light knocked the Savior back. He flung back and bounced off the ground, the armor already flaking away and dispersing into black smoke. 

"I can't die!" he cried, rising. "Not before I--" With that, he completely disappeared. A giant plume of black smoke rose into the air, abandoning a completely human skeleton. The skeleton turned into black smoke as well. 

Riot fell to the ground, on her knees, shaking. Shade threw her sword down, rushing over and wrapping her arms around Riot. "You're okay, you're okay."

"I know," Riot said. 

"I...I'm sorry." Shade leaned against the faunus, sobbing. A bat wing wrapped around her as Riot hugged her tight. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Ruby, I just--"

"I know, I know, it's okay, it's okay," Riot comforted. "I sorted that out. Nothing's gonna happen. She's fine--her voice is already beginning to come back. Jaune's using his Semblance to help her."

Shade didn't stop sobbing. "I...I'm sorry. I know I promised but..." She was cut off as Riot pulled her up and kissed her on the lips. 

"I meant what I said," Riot said, breaking off. "I love you, Shade. To the ends of Remnant and back again. You are loved, Shade."

Shade tightened her hug on Riot. She didn't know what would come next. What would happen. But as long as she had Riot by her side, she knew she could take it. 


End file.
